A Second Chance
by PlainStoryTeller
Summary: What if, Sachi never died? What if she was given a second chance at life? Would she become one of the strongest players in SAO? or would she return to a life of fear? [COMPLETED - SEQUEL CURRENTLY PUBLISHING]
1. Chapter 1

Sword Art Online Fan Fiction

A Second Chance

What if, Sachi never died? What if she was given a second chance at life? Would she become one of the strongest players in SAO? or would she return to a life of fear?

Author's notes: Thank you for reading my Fan Fic. (This is actually my first published one) This story is a side story about Sachi and her life after the death of her guild mates if she was revived by an OC of mine. It may seem a bit confusing, but please read further to understand. Of course, tips and your opinions are always wanted!

Chapter 1: A Second Chance

**June 12, 2023**

Everything was black, and the only thing Sachi heard was the voice of a robot. "Game Over detected, Nerve Gear self destruct will commence in 10..." it said.

"What's going on?" she wondered to herself.

"9...8..."

"That's right... I died..." The memories of all the recent events flashed before hey eyes. The sheer thought of these made tears flow down Sachi's cheek, but she could not wipe them. Her body was frozen, and she knew that it would remain so for the rest of time.

"7...6...5..." The Nerve gear continued to count down; its voice was as cold and robotic as ever.

"I guess this is the end..." Sachi thought to herself. It was an inevitable end for her; only to blame herself for meeting this. It was the fear of dying, if she had gone out and leveled instead of sitting in town twiddling her thumbs, maybe she wouldn't be in this position.

"4...3...2..." A hissing sound flooded Sachi's ears as her heart started beating faster and faster. The seconds felt like an eternity, and those seconds were something she took for granted. "Goodbye..." she said choking in the middle of her mental sobbing.

"1..." Sachi waited for her death to come. She waited and waited for what seemed like her entire life. But something wasn't right, she was still breathing, she still felt her heart beating.

"Use of Divine Stone of Returning Soul has been detected. Self destruct sequence aborted. Don't die again" The robotic voice of the Nerve gear flooded her ears again.

"Divine... Stone?" she muttered in question. Was she saved? Was it Kirito? These questions spun around in Sachi's head as she became more and more excited to see the face of Kirito in front of her, rescuing her yet again.

"Hey...hey... wake up..." A voice said quietly. Sachi felt someone shaking her lightly. She opened her eyes only to see a complete blur. She blinked to slowly adjust to her sight, and her heart leapt to see a figure over her. She thought it was Kirito but it wasn't him. "Are you okay?" the figure asked. Sachi blinked again, the figure of a girl formed, a little older than her. She simply nodded at the question. "Good, I guess the Stone worked then." The girl said. "Can you move?" she asked.

"Yea..." Sachi replied slowly getting up into a sitting position. "Why am I outside? Where is everyone else?" she asked looking around.. She wasn't sure if this was real, or if she was in heaven already.

"There seemed to be an anti-crystal field where you guys were, so I couldn't use the stone inside." Answering Sachi's first question; the Stone was put under the crystal category. "I'm sorry, but by the time I got here, they were one second too late..." the girl said sadly."You were the only one I could save" It was indeed reality. Her guild members, no, her friends were dead. Sachi couldn't believe it and she started to sob in disbelief. "Why..." she muttered as she looked up. The night sky was filled with gleaming stars letting the tears flow; it seemed that a couple more stars had formed. Maybe some of those stars were her dead friends she wondered amidst her sadness.

The girl said nothing and simply sat next to Sachi pulling an arm around her to try to comfort her. "Survivors guilt..." she said quietly.

"Why me?" Sachi said in despair. "I couldn't do anything to help them... I don't deserve this!" She yelled. The tears flowed and flowed. Survivor's guilt was indeed a deadly thing if it entered the mind of someone weak enough.

"Come on now; don't beat yourself up too hard." The girl said.

"But what reason would anyone possibly have? I'm useless. I'm scared. I'm weak. No one would want to save someone like me..." Sachi muttered in the middle of her sobbing.

"Maybe you're right, but do I need a reason to save people?" the girl asked handing Sachi a clean cloth to wipe her face. "No, I don't. If I can save someone from death, that itself is reason enough"

"O..okay" Sachi said as she dried her tears up. She got up, picked her spear up, and held it close. She did indeed feel a little better. "My name is Sachi" she introduced herself.

"My name's Norie" the girl said in reply followed by a handshake.

Sachi took Norie's handshake and tried her best to smile. She examined the girl. Norie was a bit taller than herself. She had purple hair with flowing side bangs and a unicorn tail loosely tied back. Her face always had a smile on it. Even though you couldn't see them, Sachi assumed her eyes were purple as well. She dressed very plainly, a simple black shirt with one sleeve long and the other short behind a purple breastplate with matching black shorts. She wore knee length black socks, black fingerless gloves, and purple boots that complimented her black cap with purple goggles. A cutlass was sheathed in a plain ring sheath revealing a high quality cutlass. But there was something a little strange about it, it was glowing faintly.

"Come, let's get out of here" Norie said as she led Sachi through the dense forest. There was the chatter of various small animals scurrying about as they returned to their nests.. The thickets and trees sang with the blowing wind, and the crickets were chirping a symphony. It was only a short distance, but Norie led Sachi to a small campsite. It was simple; a campfire in the middle with some pots and pans to cook food with. Norie sat down on a log and Sachi followed a little ways from her. "Here, have some. You must be hungry." Norie said offering Sachi some bread and cream.

"Thank you" Sachi said taking the bread and taking a bite. It was quite good. The bread was soft and somewhat sweet. The cream added to that flavor giving it a cheesy taste. It was simple, but very satisfying.

"Oh, I forgot" Norie said in amidst the silence. She opened up her game menu and pressed the "Form Party" button and sent an invite to Sachi. "We need to stick together until we get to town." she added.

Sachi agreed and accepted the invitation. She opened the party menu to see some more details on her new acquaintance.

The first thing she wanted to know was what level this girl was. "Um, I know this is sudden, but could I ask for your level?" she asked. "Please don't lie about it...I don't care if you're a high level"

"Level 43" Norie replied not showing any signs of hesitation. She showed no shame in this.

"She replied so openly!" Sachi thought to herself a little shocked. "Aren't you scared of being called a cheater?"

"Why?" Norie asked as she took a bite of her bread. "Some players need to be grateful that people like us are around, or else they wouldn't know what to do if they were knee deep in trouble. No one reads the manual either." Norie said pulling a little book out and waving it around.

"But what are you doing in a lower level area like this?" Sachi asked. Norie should be fighting alongside the front party helping everyone else beat the game.

"Helping players like you" Norie replied slyly as she laid down on the ground glaring at the starts. It was indeed a good reason. "Most players can't get proper training since the Beta Testers took all the good spots, so the others are left to fight in more dangerous areas. I know the higher levels mean well by leveling faster to beat the game. But leaving all the other players behind is a little cruel." She said before everything was silent except for the sound of crickets and the crackle of the fire.

Sachi muttered in agreement. After a while of silence, "Norie..." she asked playing the dirt.

"What is it?" Norie asked getting up from the ground looking at her.

"Is there any way for me to help everyone beat this game?" she asked wanting an honest answer.

"Well..." Norie said tapping her chin. "Anyone can help if they have been led in the right direction" she said.

"But couldn't you have used the stone on someone else?" Sachi said getting depressed again. She felt that she didn't deserve to be bestowed this second chance.

Norie simply shook her head. "You sound as if you wanted to die"

Sachi was silent for a moment at the response, she didn't want to die, but she believed that there was clearly someone else that deserved this second chance rather than her.

"Sachi... don't just throw away this second life by hating yourself. Make something of it." Norie encouraged as she laid a hand on Sachi's shoulder. "Try to get over it. Getting over things like this is what will make us stronger."

Sachi thought about it for a moment in the middle of her tears "I'll try" she replied with gratitude.

"No problem" Sachi said smiling and a chuckle to brighten the mood.

"Yaaawwwnnnn" Another voice was heard nearby. It sounded like a girls voice, but it also echoed.

"Who's there?" Sachi said getting up and drawing her spear and wiping her tears. After that little speech by Norie, Sachi tried her best to stay brave.

"Haha, don't worry Sachi. It's just Ellen, my spirit weapon" Norie reassured as she drew her sword. A golden orb was glowing at the hilt. "Finally awake Ellen?" she said as she placed her hand over the orb. It glowed brighter, and then the form of a young girl appeared next to Norie.

"That was a good nap" Ellen said stretching. In amidst of her relaxation, she noticed Sachi. "Oh? Who's this?"

"This is Sachi." Norie introduced them to each other.

Sachi sat back down and leaned on her spear. "Nice to meet you" she replied.

"The feeling is mutual" Ellen replied. Ellen was a spirit that was trapped in a stone. The only way to get these spirits out is to imbue them into a weapon. The weapon itself is destroyed and the spirit takes the shape of the weapon rather than a stone, but the spirit can take upon a human appearance. The spirits age is dependent on its appearance. Ellen, for example, took the form of a small girl with pink hair and a white bow at the top of her head. She wore a pink cap with childlike buttons with happy faces on them, and her personality reflects her age as well.

"So...how is a spirit weapon formed?" Sachi asked. Sachi was still inexperienced in the game after all. So the concept of a spirit weapon was foreign to her.

"You see..." Norie said before she was cut off by Ellen.

"Us spirit weapons are stuck in a rock before we take the form of a weapon, and these stones are very rare to find. You can dig through an entire mine, examine every single pebble, and maybe only find one of us. If someone manages to find one of us, they can imbue us into a weapon of their choice. We'll take the form of that weapon and remain with our owner until death do us part." Ellen explained.

"I see..." Sachi said taking a rather keen interest. "How long have you two been together?"

"Let me think about it..." Norie said thinking back. "I think a little after I hit level 34"

"You make it sound like a marriage!" Ellen said playfully. "That was back when Norie was just a noob! Actually, you still are!"

"Hey!" Norie said chuckling.

"She was running from monsters on the 33rd floor. You should have seen her! Norie was looking for a good spot to train before she got chased She was screaming her lungs out trying to get some help. Then she picked the stone that I was in and was about to throw. Good thing I talked her out of it and gave her a hand. And that's how we first met." Ellen explained putting her hands on her hips while standing up, exaggerating certain aspects, though, most of it was true.

"I wasn't screaming that loud" Norie said getting a little embarrassed.

"Yes you were! You were like HEELLLPP MEE ANYONE!" Ellen said imitating the scene. Sachi couldn't help but giggle at the two of them quarrel. It certainly was a much better feeling than before and she sighed out of gladness. Sachi reclined on her blanket and simply glared into the night sky with her hands behind her head. Were her friends in a better place? She wondered. She was a second away from finding out, but here she is still in this virtual hell. What would she do now? She didn't know yet. After a bit of contemplation, Sachi yawned. "I think I'll call it a night"

"Have a good night!" Ellen said floating around. If it was something Ellen enjoyed, it was floating around in her human appearance. She was a spirit after all.

"Good night" Norie said. "I'll stay on guard." Norie usually wouldn't take the job as night guard because if monsters attacked her, she would react in a flash. Since she's in a party, she figured it would be safer if she stayed on lookout because monsters could kidnap her party members instead.

"Okay then." Sachi replied as she closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep despite Norie and Ellen's squabbling. She giggled once more. "Maybe this second life was as bad as I thought." she thought to herself. She decided that she will find the strength to help everyone. She wanted to repay Kirito for all those times he saved her. Many memories with her friends both in real life and SAO filled in her mind, but she slowly forgot about them as she slowly drifted to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Second Life Anew

Authors note: Flashbacks and dreams are in Italics. Remember, feedback is always wanted!

EDIT: Huge mistake in the lore on my part. The floor the Village of Coral is on, the 22nd floor, hardly has monsters.

_What…is that? There was a loud ringing emanating from an ominous source. Where was it coming from? Sachi heard a scream; one by one her comrades were dying. "Tetsuo!" Sachi cried out. He was hacked to bits. She tried to go and help him, but with no avail, he was already gone There was panic everywhere; even Kirito was struggling to survive. Then, out of the blue, Sachi found herself surrounded by monsters. She struggled to fend them of as best as she could, but then she felt a searing pain in her back and she saw her HP drop to 0. She was falling forward into the abyss. Extending her right hand out to Kirito, she said "Thank you. Goodbye..." Before everything went black._

"So how did you meet this girl anyway?" Ellen asked reclining midair and crossing her legs as if she were resting on a tree.

"Well..." Norie said. "That dungeon is a good place to earn money. Remember how I bought you those tarts back in town?" she asked. Ellen nodded. "Well, after that, I was a little bit short on pocket cash and I needed some money to buy crystals. Then I went here. But when I arrived, there were people already in the dungeon, so there was no point in going in until they left and the monsters respawn. There was something wrong however, because even though it's a good money spot, some of those traps are deadly. I tried to see what players were in there and to my horror, 4 out of the 5 players in there were dead. So, as good natured as I am, I had to revive at least one of them, but the only one I could revive was her" Norie explained as she pointed to Sachi. "The description clearly states that it can only be used within 10 seconds of the player's avatar shattering and cannot be used in an anti-crystal field or in dungeons. Any players that are revived in dungeon must be revived outside instead. The others were just a second too late. So I had no choice but to use it on her." Norie's cheerful and happy personality showed a slip of depression at the moment. It wasn't like her. Ellen knew that for sure.

"Why'd you save the stone for her?" Ellen was playing around with a stick drawing in the dirt sitting next to Norie.

"Hmmmm" Norie muttered. She was quiet for a moment. "Her group was the only one I arrived too late to."

"So you're telling me that out of all the players you've helped, this was the first time people died?" Norie nodded in reply as she sulked a bit. "Must have been hard on you..."

Norie shook her head. "It was harder for Sachi. They were her friends"

Ellen was quiet for a moment as she stared into the fire. "I wouldn't know what to do if I lost you Norie" she said resting her head on Norie's lap.

"Me neither" Norie replied stroking Ellen's hair. Ellen reminded Norie of her younger sister, even though they might be a pain sometimes, she loved her to death.

"What about the other player? The one that was still alive?" Ellen asked.

"I suppose he made it out fine." Norie muttered. "_It was Kirito after all_" She had met Kirito back on floor 12; she was part of his party when they fought the boss of that floor.

"_You!" A person called out._

"_Wh-who me?" I asked pointing to myself. _

"_You're good at parrying right?" He asked. I nodded. "What's your name?"_

"_Norie" I replied_

"_I'm putting you as leader of our defense, if the boss attacks the striker you are assigned to; you need to rush to their defense. Got that?" he explained._

"_Y-yea" I agreed to these terms as I looked at my cutlass. I treasured it very much, it was my favorite sword. _

"_Since our highest attacker is Kirito, we'll need him to have the best defense" he said telling them to get in a pair._

"_Umm, I'm Norie" I introduced myself._

"_Kirito" Kirito replied. "So here's the plan, when the boss goes in for a strike, you go in to parry and repel. Then I go in for the hit" _

"_Got it" I replied giving a thumbs up to show my confidence. _

"_Are we ready!" The leader said. Everyone shouted in reply and the doors to the boss room opened as everyone charged in. I was a little hesitant at my responsibility._

"_Don't worry, it'll be alright" Kirito said placing a hand on my shoulder._

"_Who said I was afraid? I was just waiting for you" I said with a grin as we raced in to join everyone else._

Kirito woke up from his short nap. He looked around, it was just his room. He leaned back in his chair looking up at the empty ceiling giving a sigh. "I wonder how she's doing…Norie…" he said to himself calmly looking down back outside his window. It was snowing again.

Norie moaned while cupping her face in her hands. "If only I were there sooner!" she cursed punching the log. Her fist burnt with pain upon impact. The black silk of her glove was dirtied with the brown chips of wood that lingered on the fibers.

"Just one more question, where did you get such a rare item like that anyway?" Ellen asked another question sitting up.

"It was on floor 31. It was before I met you" Norie said as she explained.

_I had heard rumors that if you happen to meet the Maiden of Serenity in the forest, you had a chance of getting an extremely rare item if you answered her questions. So as a high level player at the time, I headed there. It was a beautiful place, it was hard to describe. The forest itself felt as if it were a living thing. Life was abundant and it took me away from the struggles that were in my heart. I was sitting by a tree taking a break. The wind blew; it felt good. Then a voice asked me from not far away, "Do you want to get out of this?"_

_I turned to my right and saw the Maiden; she was as perfect as they could describe. Her golden hair flew with the wind as if it were dancing with it. Her emerald eyes carved serenity into my heart. Her ivory skin gave her a sense of grace. Her white dress was as pure as the gods themselves and her voice was enough to soothe my aching heart of the pain of this virtual hell. _

_"Do you want to get out of this game?" she asked again placing one hand gently on a tree. Her eyes stared directly at me with complete innocence and tranquility._

_I thought about the question for a moment. Do I really want to get out? I asked myself over and over and over. Then I came to the realization that there really was nothing to go back to in the real world. My parents were always fighting; they were on the road to getting a divorce. My little sister had cancer. So she was probably going to die; no need to get my hopes up. I said no in reply._

_"Then why do you want to stay?" The Maiden asked. _

_"Because I have nothing to go back to" I said._

_"Do you have a goal in this world that you want to aspire to then?"_

_The question struck me like a rock. I thought about it for a moment, what goals did I have in this world? I thought back on all my adventures, what did they all have in common? They all involved helping others and I came to understand that I was an adventurer's best friend; always there to help them out when they need it._

_"I want to... to..." I struggled to find the right words. "I want to help those that can't help themselves" I managed to say. It sounded very cheesy indeed, but it was the best I could do._

_"Even at the cost of your own life?" Her voice echoed with the wind. _

_I paused for a moment and thought about it. "Yes" I said._

_"Then I have no further questions." The Maiden said smiling lightly. "Continue down this path of yours, and you will find a purpose" she said as her voice and figure slowly turned to mist that flew with the breeze. I closed my eyes and sighed. "Risk myself for others...have nothing...to go back to..." I thought drowsily drifting to sleep. I woke up to find a stone in my hands. It was the size of an egg. The delicate rainbow color and pattern made it almost impossible to describe. It came with a message: _

_Only use this in the direst of times - Maiden of Memories_

"That's it" Norie said crossing her arms staring into the fire. Ellen was silent. The only thing that was heard was Sachi's light breathing and the crackling of the fire.

"What do you think?" Ellen broke the silence as it was in her nature to do things like that.

"About her?" Norie asked pointing at Sachi.

"Why did you save her?" Ellen asked leaning on Norie's shoulder.

"Do I need a reason to save people?" Norie said. "But I can't help but think that she has a unique aura to her.

"Are you sure? She just seems like another player to me" Ellen replied a bit skeptical.

"I'm sure of it" Norie replied glaring up at the night sky breathing in the misty air. There seemed to be one less star than before. Even though there were too many to count, she was sure that one star was missing. "That's why I saved her...Because I could" she muttered before yawning.

The crickets chirped their endless symphony as the night went on. Everything was at peace. Even Ellen was quiet as she went back to sleep. The only one awake was Norie, but even she was starting to doze off.

"C'mon Norie, stay awake" she slapped herself awake, but she kept dozing off. A splash of some water should help her to stay awake, but not for long. Norie was on the verge of sleeping. "Oh boy, I need to do something to keep myself awake." she said. The night went on, and it felt like days to Norie. Maybe that's why people sleep at night, it's just seems so long when your awake. Eventually, dawn was near, so she decided to get a frying pan and make breakfast. Visions of smacking herself in the face with the frying pan to stay awake even came to mind. "Let's see if I still have some..." she said to herself opening her inventory."Eggs...bacon..." Navigating through her materials section, she found a couple of eggs and slices of bacon. "Here we go" she said dragging the food onto the pan. She also dragged a match out and lit it to start up the campfire again. She cracked the eggs and let them sizzle for a bit. The plates were already laid out, three of them.

Hey, a Spirit needs to eat too.

_"Wh..where am I?" Sachi said to herself as she opened her eyes. She looked around it was the campsite, but where was Norie? "Norie? Ellen?" she called out. "Where are you?" Where were they? Sachi started getting really scared and started to tear up. Did Norie leave her here to die again? She trembled and started to tear up. She managed to get up and walk around the site. "Norie! Ellen!" she called out louder this time. _

_"You left us..." A shrill voice whispered from behind her. The words pierced her heart like a hot knife on butter. She turned as fast as she could to see who it was. It was Tetsuo sitting at the base of a tree. His face was a deathly green pale. "Why you? Why do you get to live on?" he said in such a monotone voice._

_"I...I..." Sachi said stammering on her words. She was too frightened to talk straight. _

_"You left them... your own guildmates, your own friends! Why?" Another voice whispered. Turning to the source, Sachi saw a face she dreaded to see now. It was Keita. His face was pale just like Tetsuo's._

_"K...k..Keita?" Sachi couldn't speak properly. Her throat contained the rapid beating of her heart._

_"I killed myself thinking that I would be with all my friends, and YOU, YOU are still here! _

"_K-killed yourself?" She replied with such despair. _

"_Living...breathing..." he said with smite. One by one, her fallen friends had appeared, all of them with the same pale skin. All of them muttered phrases of jealousy and anger towards her._

_"I'm sorry! I'm...sorry..." Sachi muttered as she broke down crying; clutching her head. "Stop it… stop it! Stop…"_

_"You will join us soon enough" Tatsuo said pulling his spear over his head getting ready to execute Sachi. _

_"No...no.. . .no!" Sachi begged and begged, but Tetsuo still struck down._

"Ahhhh!" Sachi screamed as she woke up. She was sweating all over. She was breathing heavily and was trembling.

**June 13,2023**

"Had a bad dream?" Norie said walking over to her with two plates in hand. She placed one plate in Sachi's hands.

"Yea..." Sachi nodded as she tried to calm down a bit by pacing her breathing. She took a fork and started to eat after her hand stopped shaking.

"Oh boy! Breakfast!" Ellen said happily. Even though she was a spirit, she could hold onto tangible things.

"After breakfast, we'll be stopping by town." Norie notified Sachi about her plans.

"What are we going to do after?" Sachi asked.

"Well, we'll teleport to a training area where I'll take you training" Norie said finishing off her eggs.

"Training?" Sachi said puzzled.

"If you're going to help everyone beat this game, you're gonna have to train for it. Having courage is good, but you need the strength to back it up" Norie noted.

"I thought the beta testers took all the good training spots" Sachi said getting a little discouraged.

"Don't worry, Norie knows a lot of secret training areas." Ellen remarked with her mouth full of food finishing her breakfast.

"It's true. Most players were in such a rush to level that they didn't bother searching every nook and cranny of the map. They feared that if they did, they might find nothing and waste time. Thankfully for me, I found these places after I hit a higher level." Norie explained as she finished her bacon. "So I didn't really need to train there."

"Huh..." Sachi said in response to all that she had heard. She ate the rest of her breakfast in silence as Norie put out the fire with water from her flask.

"Are we ready to go?" Norie asked as she readjusted the hilt of her cutlass.

"Mhh" Sachi said in reply. "Ready to go"

"Alrighty then! Let's move!" Norie said with enthusiasm. She sure was the kind of girl to take lead in things. The forest was dense with vines and bushes, so it made it rather difficult to traverse efficiently. The moist moss on the trunk of trees made it especially difficult to climb over without slipping. After a while of traveling, Sachi took a look at the map. Unknown area it said.

"Oh?" she said at the blank spots on her map.

"It seems you haven't bought a copy of the maps around here yet. You'll have to buy them in town. Don't worry, we're getting th-" Norie said before she was suddenly cutoff by the ground shaking. "What the..." she said looking around. There was a roaring nearby. Where was it coming from? "There shouldn't be any large monsters in this area..." she said drawing her cutlass getting ready for combat. Sachi did the same with her spear. Eventually, the shaking stopped and everything was quiet again. "I guess that was some sort of-" Norie said before she was hit by a large branch and sent flying only to hit a tree.

"Norie!" Sachi called out attempting to reach her, but she was stopped by a large trunk that smashed the ground right in front of her. If she were caught in that, it could have been the second end of her. "Eeep!" she squealed backing up ever so slowly.

"Be careful! It's a Tree Ent!" Norie said getting back on her feet in a flash and started hacking away at the trunk smashed in the ground to get the attention of the Ent. It then finally took notice. It was a large oak tree that had a rather scorned face carved into it. It had two large trunks as arms attached by rather thin looking branches. It saw Norie hack at its left arm. Its right arm, cleverly disguised, sent a flurry of branches that all acted like swords slashing at Norie. "Hup!" Norie breathed as she skillfully parried all the branches. "I don't have level 547 Parry for no reason!" Norie said. "Ellen, activate Spirit Awakening!"

"Roger!" Ellen said as the cutlass started to glow brighter. "Sonic slash!"

"Haaaaa ha!" Norie grunted as she jumped upward at the Ent after finding a weak spot; the branch attaching the arm. Midair, she slashed downward with all her might, and a loud piercing sound was heard. She felt her sword make contact and she pushed down harder and harder until the Ent's right arm was cleanly cut off. It moaned in pain as it flailed around. The HP bar floating above it dropped to about 35%, inducing a yellowish orange color.

She landed on her feet bending her knees. "Yes!" Norie said as she formed a fist with her free hand in a sense of accomplishment. "Now that's how we-" she said before she again got cut-off by the Ent. Only this time, the Ent grabbed Norie's entire body with its free arm. Norie tried her best to break free from the grasp, but the more she struggled the tighter the Ent's grasp became

"No..." Norie thought hastily. She brandished her cutlass and threw it straight at the Ent's head, making a clean and clear stab. Its grip loosened and Norie could breathe again. Its HP bar was now extremely low; around the 2 percent range, flashing red. "Sachi! Go for the kill!" she yelled out.

"Me!?" Sachi said getting nervous. "But I can't.. what if I mess up!"

"Just do it!" Norie said with determination as the Ent's grasp became tighter. "Don't doubt yourself! Trust in yourself. It's the key to becoming stronger!" she managed to say.

"O..okay" Sachi said angling her spear for a stab; she tried to hold it as steady as she can from her trembling. Her weapon was glowing blue as she charged up her stab. "I can do this... I can do...this!" she said as a wave of determination and courage swept over her. She charged towards the Ent screaming her lungs out as she jumped and thrust her spear forward into the Ent's wound from the lost arm. Her spear made contact; it kept going deeper and deeper into the wound. The Ent's HP bar went from a little bar of red to empty and it fell back roaring one last moan of pain. The grip around Norie was finally loosened and she was kneeling on the ground trying to catch her breath. Sachi was still trembling from the encounter, but she actually felt good. She fell back on her bottom panting and trying to calm down.

"Haha...hahaha!" She started laughing. "I did it!" she said with enthusiasm. "I actually did it!"

Amidst her laughing, a menu popped up. It said Congratulations! Level Up! 26! She was a little surprised. She was only about 36 percent into her level. Checking the party settings; she noticed that Norie put the party experience to On finish, which meant that the experience went to the killer only. "Thank you…." She whispered

"Ah boy" Norie asked getting up and dusting herself off.

"At least I didn't take too much damage" she said rubbing her ribs. Only a little bit of her HP was missing. "That was unusually strong though" she noted taking a sip of an HP potion.

"Umm.. hello? Anyone gonna get me?" Ellen said wiggling around in her sword form still stuck in the Ent's head.

"Sorry!" Norie said rushing to retrieve her companion. "Time to loot" she said as she picked up the sack the Ent left behind. "Hmph, nothing good this time" She muttered as she dragged the crystals into her inventory. "What did you get?" she asked Sachi. Sachi was still giggling from this encounter; Sachi forgot to get her loot.

"Haha, let's see… an Aqua Cloak." she said dragging it into her inventory.

"Really?" Norie said surprised. "Hey that's a pretty rare drop. You should equip that" she suggested.

"I should?" Sachi asked.

"Yea!" Norie urged.

Sachi dragged the cloak into her equipment slot, and her appearance changed. Instead of a plain light teal top, she was wearing a light teal cloak that closely resembled Kirito's.

"You look cute" Norie complimented. Ellen agreed.

"You think so?" Sachi said giving an embarrassed laugh as her face got a little red.

"I bet you'll look even nicer if you collect the entire set." Norie said. "You might find a couple of pieces floating around the market" she added signaling to move on.

"I'll try" Sachi said with a smile. After getting up and dusting herself off. "C'mon let's go!" she said taking Norie's hand. She felt full of energy and self confidence now.

"Wa..wait! I'm supposed to lead the way!" Norie whined as she ran with Sachi. They ran down the path and out of the forest up to a hill that overlooked the city. It was still quite a distance away, a couple of hours of travel at the least. It was high noon; they decided to take a break there.

"Aww man… my spears broken!" Sachi said a little frustrated as she barely found out. She was so excited after that battle that she forgot to tend to her equipment.

"Let me take a look at that" Norie said handling it gently. She examined it and checked its durability. It was 0/0. "Yea, it's definitely no longer usable. " She noted tapping the tip a bit. It shattered to pieces.

Sachi gasped. "My spear!" she pouted. "And I don't have another in my inventory either.." she noted

"Here take this" Norie said taking a sword out of her inventory. "I think swords will suit you better"

"Bu-but" Sachi hesitated remembering all the terrible fright she had from fighting with a sword. She was scared even if she had a shield with her, how scared would she be if she didn't?

"Just take it, and don't be afraid to stare your opponent in the eye. Show that you're not afraid!" Norie encouraged as she held her hand and placed the hilt of the sword in her palm.

"I-I will!" Sachi said loudly as she tried her best to forget about her traumatic experiences with a sword.

"That's my girl!" Norie said wrapping her arm around Sachi's neck and giving her a noogie.

"Ouch! Hey!" Sachi tried her best not to giggle at the tickling sensation on her head and attempted to break free. "Stop it!" After a bit of struggling, Sachi managed to break free of Norie's headlock and sprinted forward a bit to try not to get caught again. She turned around stuck her tongue out at Norie making that usual sound that everyone does when they do that. After a moment of silence, Norie sat down on a nearby tree chewing on a piece of barley

"What about my spear proficiency?" Sachi asked. Her spear proficiency was 315, so it was a little of a waste to just leave it there.

"Well, I can train you more in the sword." Norie said. "So you can take out spears for swords now. If we can find a good spear user later on, you can pick up spears as a secondary weapon.

"Ermm, okay" Sachi said doing so.

"Don't worry about it being inexperienced with it now; it'll go up pretty fast as we train." Norie said yawning. "I think we should get going, we should hit town by late afternoon. That way, I can book us a room for the night." Picking up Ellen, she sheathed her beloved cutlass. "Alright! Let's move!" she said with such energy.

"Okay!" Sachi said as she held her sword in front of her towards the city and yelled out "Let's go!" with enthusiasm. Yes, that was it! Sachi had resolved to become stronger, so that Kirito wouldn't have to protect her anymore. For once in her life, she had finally mustered the courage to venture out in the world.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Worriless Nights

Authors note: I have no plans of having Sachi give any romantic feelings towards Kirito. I do not believe she's ever had them in the LN, and I will keep it that way. Remember, their relationship wasn't romantic; it was more of what they had in common. As I quote "Their relationship described as "two stray cats licking each others' wounds" as they comforted each other.

The gates of the town were quiet with the occasional chatter between players as they partied up with each other to venture into the wilderness. The ominous party stepped through the gates and into a rather midsized town. There were some players mingling in the courtyard, and others rummaging through the markets, but nothing compared to the bigger cities.

"I'm going to book us a room" Norie said. "Do you know where the inn is?" she asked.

"Yea" Sachi said

"I'm hungry!" Ellen complained as she manifested herself from her cutlass.

"You'll have to wait until dinner" Norie said waving her finger, "and I'm not buying you any snacks either"

"Awww come one!" Ellen pouted; she blew a raspberry at Norie.

Sachi simply smiled at the two. "I'll be taking a look around town" she said waving.

"Alright, meet us in the inn at 7" Norie said waving back. Thus, the group parted ways for now, though, they could always locate each other. They were in a party after all.

Sachi wandered the streets looking around until she found the property agents office. "Can I have a key to the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild house?" She asked.

"Lost the keys already?" The player at the desk commented and took a look at some papers looking for verification that Sachi was a member of the guild. "Sure thing" she replied going to the back room and coming back with a key in hand. "Keep this safe" she said entrusting the key with Sachi.

"I will" Sachi replied holding the key close to her heart as she walked out the office. She again wandered the streets searching for the house that never got to be used. Eventually, she found herself standing in front of an unfamiliar house, but one she wanted to visit for some time now. It was a little house, nice and tidy, fit for 5 people. Holding her breath, she managed to slide the key into the lock and opened the door despite her hands trembling. It was empty save for some pieces of furniture. There was a sign on the door that said: Welcome! Sachi was silent as she ran her hand over the furniture that was to be used by such a lively guild made by high school friends. It was a bittersweet moment. Tears began rolling down Sachi's cheeks, but she tried her best not to sob. She opened up the Social tab and went to guild. It wasn't a surprise; 3 out of 5 of the names there were grayed out. Only hers and Kirito's were green. Then she had an idea, maybe it wasn't the best of ideas, but it was one nonetheless. Pressing her name, she opened up the preferences where it said "Show Availability" She opened the drop down box and pressed the "Hide Status" button. That way, when anyone who has friended Sachi sees her name on their Social list, her name would be a dark grey, different from the one's of the deceased. It's clear if you look at it long enough, but if someone merely glances at it, they wouldn't notice. She wanted to keep her existence a secret from Kirito, only to engage him until she felt she was ready. She hoped Kirito hadn't noticed yet. After a while of sentimental silence, she continued to wander the empty house. Memories flashed in her head, and the tears wouldn't stop flowing. Without knowing why, she was sobbing silently to herself in the corner of the main room. After an hour or two, Sachi eventually stopped crying and put her face into the knees she was hugging. She dried up her tears with the sleeve of her glove and got up. As she made her way outside, she looked back giving a tender smile before closing the door. "Goodbye"

Sachi made her way to the inn.

"Let's see..." Sachi said opening her map of the town to see where Norie was. There was a green dot at the inn, as expected. Then another dot was present on the map; a blue one. Party members' dots were green, but friends' dots were blue. The dot was at the Transfer Gate. Sachi's heart raced as she immediately darted towards the direction of the dot as fast as she could without thinking. She forgot about keeping her existence secret from Kirito for that one moment and only thought about seeing his face again. The only people that were on her friends list were her guild members, and...

"Kirito!" Sachi screamed out at the top of her lungs to the boy in black a little distance away.

"What?" Kirito said as he looked up at who called him. But before he could get a good glimpse of her, his vision was blurred, and transitioned to a whole different place all together.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a desolate snowy area. The image of the person who called out to him flashed in his head, it was just a faint outline. "That voice back then" he muttered as Sachi's voice rang over and over again in his head recalling that one memory six months before. He hadn't given it much thought since then; he only remembered it now. "Could it have been..." he mumbled, "Sachi?" The snow started collecting on his shoulders and head the longer he stood there in deep thought. "Could it be? No... it couldn't. Maybe I was just seeing things…" he shook off the snow on his shoulders like he shook off the thought that Sachi could still be alive. "But that was definitely her voice back then…" he thought again as a large monster dropped from the sky. Nicholas the Renegade it was called. He started to say lines. "Shut up!" Kirito muttered drawing his sword kicking hard into the thick layer of snow.

Sachi stared in disbelief. The image of Kirito was engulfed in a blue light, and then he was gone. She broke down frustrated; she couldn't believe it. He was right there and she barely missed him, and she didn't know where he headed either. "Damn it! Damn... it!" she said panting and punching the wall nearby as hard as she could. The cold stone sent a painful sensation from her fingers all the way up to her shoulder. The physical pain reflected her feelings of pain, and anger. There was one strange thing though, she wasn't crying; no tears were rolling down her cheeks. There was no sadness. After punching the wall one more time and allowing herself some time to calm herself down, she took a deep breath. "Someday Kirito... some day... we'll meet again, when you don't have to protect me anymore" she whispered. Another wave of silence followed and Sachi decided to head to the inn.

Outside the inn, people were hanging out alone or chatting with one another. Most of the windows were lit with the glimmering light of a candle. Sachi entered the inn and opened her map. The green dot was in front of her, but Norie wasn't there. She figured that Norie was upstairs, so she trotted her way up the flight of stairs through numerous inn rooms only to stop at one room. The green dot was in that room. Sachi turned the knob slowly and pulled.

"BWAAAAHHHHHH!" A loud voice sounded as a creature suddenly appeared in front of Sachi.

Sachi screamed in fright as she fell backward backing away from the creature.

"Hahahahah!" A familiar voice started cracking up. "You should have seen the look on your face!" It was Ellen laughing as she held her sides; waving the mask of a monster around.

"Ellen!" Sachi said getting mad and puffing her cheeks. "Why you little..." she said grabbing Ellen's cheeks and pinching them. "That'll teach you to mess with me!"

"Owww! Ret go ov mee!" Ellen's speech was gargled due to the cheek pinching.

"Hey what the hell is going on!" A player said a couple of doors down. Some other players also came out to see what the commotion was.

"Man you guys are too loud. How am I supposed to get some sleep?" Norie said getting up from the bed. "Honestly, what am I going to do with you Ellen?" she asked swiping the mask from Ellen's hands. "I'm terribly sorry" she said to the curious players. "Just that my companion here wanted to have some 'harmless' fun" she said patting Ellen on the head.

"Well okay, but try to keep it down. Some of us are trying to rest here" he said as he returned to his room.

"I can say the same" Norie said as she hit Ellen on the head.

"Owww!" Ellen said rubbing her head. "Norie you're so mean" she pouted.

"I wouldn't have done that if you didn't scare Sachi" Norie said rubbing her eyes. She laid back down on the bed.

"I was trying to test her bravery!" Ellen said crossing her legs as she sat next to Norie.

"Sure you did" Norie replied sarcastically pulling the sheets over herself. "Anyway, Sachi, you can go down and eat dinner anytime. Take Ellen with you also, I already ate." she said handing her glowing cutlass to Sachi. "And when you come back, don't disturb me please" Norie sure did place a lot of trust into Sachi for taking care of Ellen. No player would just let someone else handle their prized weapon, especially if it was a spirit weapon.

"Roger!" Sachi said holding onto Ellen with both hands.

"Good." Norie said as she yawned pretty loudly. "Come back any time you like, but try to get some sleep as soon as possible. We have a long day ahead of us." she said.

Sachi nodded in agreement. "Good night!" she said on her way out. As she made her way down the hall, Ellen appeared walking with Sachi

"Geez, she's sure grumpy." she commented crossing her arms.

"Who wouldn't be..." Sachi said giving a rather cross look. Ellen backed up a little bit, "Look no hard feelings?" she said innocently.

Sachi simply sighed the sigh that people usually do when someone is so annoying that they can't stand to be around them, but just can't live without. "So what do they have to eat?" she asked.

"I'm not sure..." Ellen said sniffing the air. "Smells like... chicken... fish stew... bread... salad... and... pie!" she said suddenly getting excited. "Hurry! Or else they'll run out of pie!" Despite Ellen's plea, Sachi moved at regular pace. A spirit in human form couldn't be more than about a couple of feet away from its weapon, or else they would just merge back with the weapon.

"You have a really good sense of smell" Sachi commented amazed at how well it was. She couldn't smell anything from up here.

"Some spirits have enhanced senses. Some of them have eagle eye vision, others have the hearing of an owl, but I have the nose of a dog!" Ellen said praising herself.

Sachi entered the dining hall; there was a fireplace with a crackling fire. A boy was playing the lute while sitting on a rocking chair in front of it. The waiters were busy serving food to the residents. The place wasn't too crowded, maybe because it was still early in the night and people haven't been drinking too heavily yet. There were some parties enjoying a meal together while they chatted and hollered. Sachi took an empty seat at a table putting Ellen down.

"Mhhh do you smell that?" Ellen said as her mouth started to water. "Ohh I can't wait!"

"You sure do like food don't you?" Sachi remarked with a light chuckle.

"Of course I do! It's one of the things that I enjoy the most!" She replied as she picked up her spoon and fork and started banging on the table. "I want service!" she hollered.

"Hey stop that!" Sachi said getting up and smacking Ellen on the head.

"Waahhhh!" Ellen complained.

Sachi sighed. "Please just try to wait will you?" she pleaded.

"Fine..." Ellen said rubbing her head. "But you didn't have to hit that hard!"

"It could have been harder" Sachi winked punching her fist. Ellen winced.

After a bit of waiting, a waitress tended to their table. "How are you this evening? What would you like to order?"

Ellen eagerly ordered a piece of everything they had.

"I'll just have the fish stew, some bread and apple cider" Sachi said thanking the waitress.

"You're going to burn a hole in Norie's wallet you know" she commented.

"Ahhh don't worry! The food comes with the room" Ellen said munching on some bread left as appetizers. "Basically this is an all you can eat!" she hollered out rubbing her hands, anxious for her feast.

The waitress came back with their meal. "Here you go! Fish stew and apple cider" she said gently placing the bowl of fish stew followed by a cup of apple cider in front of Sachi. "As for you.." she said placing various steaming plates and bowls in front of Ellen. There was indeed a lot of food, a big bowl of fish stew, crisp crunchy salad, steaming drumsticks and a pitcher of wine. "Dessert will come later" the waitress noted. "Enjoy!" she said with hospitality.

"Alright! Let's dig in!" Ellen said smacking her lips and diving into her feast.

Sachi herself decided to eat some of the stew. Taking some bread and breaking a piece, she dipped it in the stew and ate it. It was good; she took her spoon and started eating. It wasn't too hot, so it was eatable right away. After a while she stopped eating. The image of Kirito flashed in her mind. "Did he recognize me?" she wondered to herself looking down at her reflection in the soup deep in thought. Amidst her eating, Ellen noticed that Sachi wasn't eating anything for a moment. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Sachi replied.

"Ahhhhh!" she asked taking a gulp of wine from her cup "This is some good stuff you know?"

"Drunk already?" Sachi said sighing as she started eating again. The night went on, and dessert came. It was an apple pie laced on top with cinnamon. The crust was flaky and the filling contained delectable apple bits cooked to perfection with a pinch of cinnamon. It was enough to make anyone's mouth water.

"Ohhhh! This pie is just perfect!" She hollered. "This.. has got to be one of the best pies I have ever eaten you know that?" She was drunk, hiccupping and holding an unsteady hand up.

"I think you've had enough..." Sachi said trying to take the pitcher away.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me; I am a spirit after all!" She said laughing pulling the pitcher back to her. "Hic.."

Now the dining hall was getting lively. More and more people came to drink, socialize, and have a jolly time. Everyone here seemed to forget about the ordeals of this virtual hell for the night. There was dancing, and music; even the boy that was playing the lute earlier was getting in on this playing a lively tune for everyone to dance to. Even Sachi decided to participate and clap to the beat with everyone else. After a while, the boy with the lute stopped playing and had a drink alone not far from Sachi's table.

"Hey lute boy!" Ellen called out. "Don't sit alone! Come over and have a drink! Hic!" she called out.

"Okay oaky" The boy said coming over. "Sorry to intrude..."

"Ahhh! Don't worry!" Ellen said patting him on the back, now she was really drunk. "Now what's your name ol' chap? Hic!"

"Keshiga" he replied. Sachi simply observed him; he looked like he was around 17. He had brown spiky hair. His face had the look of determination on it as his eyes showed a fiery passion. He was wearing a brown shirt accompanied by a grey plate and khaki pants.

"Bawww, the name's Ellen" Ellen replied taking another gulp of wine. "Hoooooo! And this is Sachi" she pointed towards Sachi.

"Pleased to meet you" he said. Sachi simply nodded in return.

"Woooo!" Ellen said waving her cup in the air. After a while, she started dozing off and fell asleep snoring loudly.

"So does she usually drink this much?" Keshiga asked.

"I assume so yes" Sachi replied.

"You assume? So you two aren't close friends?"

"Friends, yes, close? Not yet. We've only known each other for about a day." Sachi explained.

"Oh I see..." Keshiga replied nodding. He noticed the glowing cutlass. "Is that yours?" He pointed.

"This? No it belongs to my friend. She's sleeping in our room." Sachi said gripping one hand around it.

"Why is it glowing?" he asked.

"Erm... it's that...because...ummm" Sachi said nervously while rubbing the back of her head. "Okay... she's a spirit, and this is a spirit weapon"

"Really?" Keshiga said really excitedly. "A spirit weapon?"

"Nn" Sachi nodded; this wasn't the response she was expecting.

"Cool!" He said getting up from his chair. "I've heard soo many cool things about them, but this is the first time I've seen one!"

"It's not that special..." Sachi said chuckling nervously to herself.

"It totally is!" He replied sitting back down and taking a drink of his cider. "When I first heard about them, I've always wanted to see one. It's unbelievable what kind of people you might meet." He said. After a little while, his craze about Spirit Weapons died out. "Say, might I interest you in joining my guild?" he suddenly asked.

"Me? Oh... No thanks. I'm...already part of a guild..." Sachi said as she started to hang hear head low.

"Huh? I'm sorry! If that offended you in any way I'm sorry! I understand if you don't want to..." he stammered trying to cheer Sachi up.

"No no, it's okay. It's just that all my guild members were my friends in real life." There was a sentimental tone in her voice.

Keshiga didn't understand what she meant by this statement at first, but after a while, he realized it. "Oh... I'm so sorry..." he said as his energetic personality slowed down a bit.

"It doesn't matter anymore" Sachi replied shaking her head. "What's past is past. Overcoming these things will make us stronger." she quoted Norie raising her cup. "Cheers!" she said managing to smile. Keshiga was glad that Sachi was at least trying to cope. "Cheers" he said tapping his cup with hers before taking a swig.

"You're pretty good with a lute Keshiga" Sachi tried to change the topic.

"Thanks haha~" He said getting red. "I play the guitar in real life. I can play for you if you want. If we both make it out alive that is.."

"I'd love that" Sachi said smiling. After a bit of awkward silence, Sachi managed to ask "What kind of weapon do you use?"

"A dual headed spear" he said taking it out.

"Cool! I used to use a spear, but mine broke earlier today." Sachi said as a wave of good times with her guild swept over her. The spear certainly did remind her of them, but she stayed strong and fought away the bad feelings.

"So what are you using now?" Keshiga asked as he put down his spear.

"I'm using a sword" she said flashing the hilt a bit.

"I personally think that swords are overused" Keshiga said resting his head on his hands.

"This is Sword Art Online anyway" Sachi said shrugging as she sipped her apple cider.

"I guess it is..." he muttered. "Say, are you busy tomorrow?" Keshiga asked out of the blue.

"Erm, kind of. I'm going with my friend to train." Sachi said.

"Oh..." Keshiga said giving it some thought. "Can I join you guys? I mean, I'm not in a party at the moment and I also need some training since no one in my guild has the time to help me out."

"Erm..." Sachi hesitated as she didn't know what to do. She didn't want to disturb Norie, but she also didn't want to invite an unwanted guest, so she did the next best thing, ask Ellen. "Ellen! Hey Ellen!"

"Gwahh... Not now Norie. I don't care if you're surrounded..." Ellen muttered as she was shaken by Sachi.

"There's no more wine!" Sachi whispered in Ellen's ear.

"No more!" Ellen said waking up and immediately checking the pitcher. "Hey! There's still some!"

Sachi and Keshiga couldn't help but giggle at her clever trick. "Can Keshiga join us?"

"Yawwwnnnn... Yea sure whatever. I'm pretty sure Norie won't object." Ellen said putting her head back down. "Now don't bother me again!" Pretty soon, Ellen started snoring again.

"Great! Thank you!" Keshiga said gripping her hand with both of his giving his thanks. "You won't be disappointed!"

"Glad to have you onboard" Sachi replied as she sent a party invite to Keshiga.

"Thanks" Keshiga said accepting.

It was around 11:00, but the night in the dining hall was still young. As the band started playing lively music again, couples started dancing around the center of the hall. Even Ellen woke up to watch the festivity. Sachi watched everyone dance until a hand gestured in front of her. It was Keshiga. "May I?" he asked.

"Sure" Sachi said taking his hand without hesitation. They danced the night away. As the night went on, Sachi was actually laughing and having fun. It did indeed seem as if the Dining Hall took away all the sorrows of her life.

"Go Sachi!" Ellen hollered out amidst her hiccupping.

Eventually, the music died out, and the dancing and laughing ceased for the night. The dining hall was quiet save for a few remaining drinkers and some night owls. Sachi was sitting back at the table panting after all the dancing.

"Well, I'm going to go back to my room for now" Keshiga said patting Sachi on the back. "You're a good dancer you know" he remarked with a smile.

"I can say the same to you" Sachi said smiling back.

"Good night!" he called out before he left the hall.

"Good night!" Sachi replied back picking Ellen up, it seems that she went back into the cutlass. _Oh well, less trouble for me_ Sachi thought to herself as she exited the dining hall. She made her way up the stairs sluggishly. All that dancing took a number on her feet. Eventually, she made it to their room; she carefully laid Ellen next to Sachi's bag and sat down on her own.

Norie was asleep, "Must have been hard staying up all night" Sachi noted.

"Ow ow ow" she whispered taking her boots off. Being exposed to the cool air made her feet feel like it was stepped over hot coal then submerged into icy water. She then curled up in her blankets and shut her eyes. It certainly felt good to sleep in a bed again. Shortly after, she fell asleep. Surprisingly, no dreams occurred at all, good nor bad.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Training Day

Authors notes: Longer chapter today guys! Some people have been asking for some more action, so here it is in this chapter! EDIT: I'll be keeping track of the dates as we go one. It might not seem too important now as I am writing on a day by day status. I.E The party goes to sleep and it's the next day and so forth. But this will be rather important later on in the story, or at least I hope so.

**Aincrad 28th Floor, June 14, 2023**

Morning was here and the start of a new day began. Sachi was awoken by the light rustling of the bed next to her. She opened her eyes and looked to see if Norie was awake. Norie was busy putting her shoes on. "Get enough sleep?" she asked with a smile.

Sachi simply nodded and smiled in return.

"Not sure if I can say the same about Ellen" she replied with a smile. Getting up to a sitting position, she stretched her feet. "Boy my feet are killing me" she commented

"Now you know the life of an adventurer" Norie noted as she finished tying the laces on her boots.

"So what's going on today?" Sachi asked sliding her feet into her boots.

"Let me see... like I said yesterday, I'm going to take you to train." Norie said flipping through the party menu. "Oh?" she noticed another player was in their party. "Keshiga?" she asked

"Oh, erm..." Sachi said getting nervous. "He asked to join, so I asked Ellen because I didn't want to wake you up."

"Hmmmm okay" Norie said. "Thanks for not waking me up, though, it's better to trust your own judgment rather than Ellen's" she joked.

"Hey! I heard that!" Ellen said forming next to Norie.

"Thought you were asleep." Sachi said getting up and putting her hands on her hips.

"Not with your loud voice" Ellen said sticking her tongue out playfully.

"Hey!"

Norie chuckled. "Alright, let's go. " she said sheathing Ellen. "And I want to meet this Keshiga person. Tell him to meet us at the transfer gate" she added as she closed the door behind her.

"Will do" Sachi said sending a message to Keshiga. "Meet us at the transfer gate" it said.

"So? What's he like?" Norie asked Sachi.

"Well, he's a spear wielder; he also plays the lute and guitar" Sachi said counting with her fingers.

"Why did he want to join us?" Norie asked.

"He heard that we were going to train today and he wanted to come along because his guild members can't help him out." Sachi explained.

"Yea, and he's also trying to flirt with her" Ellen said eavesdropping

"You heard that?" Sachi said getting red.

"I heard everything!" Ellen said laughing.

"I can play for you if you want. If we both make it out alive that is" Ellen mocked making a lovey dovey expression on her face. "I'd love to! Hahahaha! You're just too funny!" Ellen started bursting out laughing.

"Why you little..." Sachi muttered squeezing Ellen's cheeks even harder.

"Owowowow! Stop it!" Ellen said

Norie sighed as she smiled. "What a bright future this is" she said sarcastically as the party made their way out the inn and towards the transfer gate.

Norie and Sachi made it to the transfer gate. "Hmm, I wonder where he- there he is!" Sachi said pointing to a figure running as fast as he can.

"Huff huff. Sorry I'm late! I just woke up, so I didn't get your message until now" Keshiga said trying to catch his breath. He noticed Norie crossing her arms. "I'm Keshiga"

"Norie" Norie replied doing her signature two finger flick tap on the forehead greeting. "So Sachi tells me you need some training right?" she asked.

"Yea, most of my guild is busy, so they can't help me out" Keshiga replied.

"What level are you might I ask?" Norie asked.

"Level 26" he replied.

"Perfect, now both of you guys can train on level with each other. " Norie said patting him on the shoulder. "Anyway, welcome to the group. Glad to have you on board."

"Thanks!" Keshiga said.

"Now, let's go" Norie said leading them into the transfer gate. "We ready?" Norie asked as she opened up the destination menu. Everyone nodded in reply. "Okay, Wolf Plains here we go!" she said pressing the respective name. Everything was a blur that moment forward; it only lasted a couple of seconds, but by the time Sachi's vision restored, the scene was all but familiar.

"Well, been a long time" Norie said taking a few steps into the courtyard. "Alright, I'll go book us a room at the inn. Then after, we'll meet at the north gate of town in half an hour." Norie said about to part ways.

"Wait! What do you want us to do?" Keshiga asked.

"Go take a look at the market, Sachi's wanted to collect more pieces of the Aqua Set" Norie replied smirking before heading off.

"Wha- hey!" Sachi said getting red.

"U-uhm..." Keshiga said rubbing the back of his head nervously. "Wanna go?" he asked to break the awkward silence. He held his hand out

"Eh eh!" Sachi asked abruptly surprised. "Umm... er... sure..." she submitted; blushing as she took his hand. Keshiga opened his map to look for the market, and after setting a waypoint, he followed the line. Eventually, they reached the little market place. People were browsing through outdoor stands and little shops looking for a good deal while others tried to haggle.

"Wow..." Sachi said in wonder at the items some players were selling. Some were so extremely lavish that only the rich could attain.

"Is this your first time in a market?" Keshiga asked.

"No, but it always amazes me to see what other players have" Sachi said admiring some fancy looking accessories. Taking a look at the price, she was dissuaded from even thinking about buying it.

"Erm, don't forget why we're here" Keshiga pointed out.

"Right!" Sachi said remembering that she was hunting for the rest of the pieces of her set. "Umm..." she said to a shop keeper of a nearby stand, "Do you happen to have any Aqua set pieces?" she asked timidly.

"Aqua set? Hmmm, let me check" he said opening up his shop window. "Aqua...Aqua" he muttered scrolling through the list of items he had listed. "Ah here we go, Aqua Bow" He rummaged through some boxes until he pulled out a light teal hair bow.

"How much for it?" Keshiga asked.

The shopkeeper pointed to the price in his shop window, "It's below the normal market price, so it's a good deal; especially for this piece of the set."

"Hmmm, a little pricey, but I'll take it" Keshiga said pressing the buy function on the shop window.

"Wa..wait! Keshiga!" Sachi said. "It's something that I want, so I need to pay for it"

Keshiga simply smiled. "Don't worry about it; this is a gift for you"

Sachi simply blushed at his statement. "F..fine"

The shopkeeper simply chuckled. "You two seem like a cute couple" he said. "I'll upgrade it one rank for you as a gift"

"Thank you!" Keshiga said very grateful for his generosity.

"Don't sweat it." he said handing Keshiga the bow. "I wouldn't know what I would do if I made a face like that sad" he teased Sachi a bit. "Anyway, have a good day now okay?"

"Will do!" Keshiga said waving.

"Thank you again!" Sachi followed.

"Here, this is yours now" Keshiga said placing the bow in her hands. "Try it on!"

Sachi took the bow with a blushing face. She hesitated a bit before dragging it onto her equipment. "So? How does it look?" she asked.

"Cute" Keshiga said. The bow was on the back of her head flowing with her cloak in the wind.

"Re-really?" Sachi said as her face turned a complete hue of pink.

Keshiga simply laughed, "It's funny to see you like this"

"H-hey!" Sachi said starting to punch him on the shoulder out of embarrassment.

"Ow! Cut it out!" Keshiga said still laughing. After he stopped, he said "Well, it's about time we met up with Norie."

Sachi nodded after her little tantrum ended.

"So how did you meet Norie anyway?" he asked as they walked through the courtyard.

"Um..." Sachi had to think of something quick. "I needed some help on a quest since I had no one to help me. And she saw me sitting alone and asked me if I was in a party." She lied.

"Oh" Keshiga said satisfied with her response. They were both silent again until they made it to the north gate. Norie was there waiting for them.

"Alright, you guys ready to go?" Norie asked tapping her fingers on her hip. Everyone nodded. "Alright then, let's go!" Norie said as she led the way down the path. "That bow looks cute on you" Ellen whispered in Sachi's ear. She started to turn red and her head started to steam comically. Norie laughed as she walked backwards examining the pair. "Sachi and Keshiga..." she thought to herself.

Eventually, Norie led them to a fork in the road; then she stopped.

"Are we there?" Keshiga asked pulling out his spear.

"Not yet" Norie said as she stepped off the path and started heading towards the thick forest. "Hey wait!" Keshiga said going after her. Sachi followed in pursuit. "Why are we heading into the forest for? That's the danger zone isn't it?"

"Of course it is" Norie replied. "Just follow me" she said leading them through the seemingly endless trees and brushes.

"I don't like the feeling of this" Keshiga noted.

"Don't worry, if anything happens, me and Ellen with protect you two" Norie reassured. She was right, after a little more walking; they eventually made it to a clearing.

"Wahhhh..." Sachi said as she gazed at the landscape in front of her. She was in a plain of grass that was flowing gracefully with each gust of wind. The waterfall in the distance added a sense of serenity as the sound of water splashing added a feeling of peace. "It's beautiful!" She started spinning and spinning spreading her arms out as she fell into the soft grass of the plains.

"Wow.." Keshiga said in amazement, "You sure are something Norie; I don't even see this place on the map!" It certainly wasn't; when you looked on the world map, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Told you I knew what I was doing. Ahem, now to the main business." Norie said clapping to get everyone's attention, "There are plenty of mobs around for you to fight. They are rather mid-leveled, but nothing you guys can't handle one on one. I set the experience share so that whoever kills the monster gets the experience, that way you guys get more training done. If you meet something you can't handle, just run away and call me. Meet at that tree over around noon and I'll have lunch ready." Norie explained pointing at a tree upon a hill a little farther away.

"What kind of mobs are around here?" Sachi asked.

"There are wolves roaming around the plains. They won't aggro you unless you really seem like a threat, so don't worry." Norie pointed out as she showed them the monsters in the distance. "Right, Keshiga, you can get started. I need to show Sachi how to use her weapon"

"Got it" Keshiga said as she pulled his spear out.

"Be careful" Sachi said.

"I will" he replied giving a thumbs up as he charged through the plains.

"Now Sachi, we'll practice on that wolf right there" Norie pointed out.

Sachi nodded as she pulled her sword out getting ready to fight.

"Have you ever fought with a sword before?" Norie asked.

"Yes" she added looking her sword a little bit nervous.

"From?" Norie asked.

"Erm, someone named Kirito" Sachi replied timidly. Kirito had taught her the basics sword and shield fighting, not sword only. "But I need a shield."

"Good, so you know some basics" Norie replied as she shook her head. "No, a shield does protect you, but if you hide behind it too much, you'll never be able to muster up the courage to strike. You need to rely on your sword to defend, if you do that, you won't need a shield to fend off attacks." Sachi was a bit surprised that Norie knew Kirito.

"You know Kirito?" She asked

"I've fought alongside him before. But that's not important right now, concentrate." Norie replied tapping her on the shoulder.

"Okay" Sachi said getting ready to dive at the wolf. He hands were trembling and she gripped it tightly with both hands to try to stop it from shaking.

"Calm down Sachi. Forget about how scary it is, and let the fear flow out of your body until all of it is gone. "Norie said holding her hand and straightening her sword so she would stop shaking. Sachi felt a better with Norie by her side guiding her.

After taking a deep breath, she charged forward using Horizontal on the wolf; ending up with the wolf presumably dead behind her. She was wrong, it wasn't dead and it pounced on her from behind. A powerful force pushed her forward as she tripped and fell. Looking back, she saw the gnarling face of the wolf waiting for her to make her move. Its Hp was a little less than half. She had lost about 1/5th. She started to back away from the wolf in fear. She didn't want her HP to drop to 0 again.

"Don't get scared if your HP drops a bit, you still have plenty left! Attack again! Don't let it hit you again!" Norie called out.

Sachi did as she was told. She got up, mustered a bit of courage and charged towards the wolf, again using Horizontal on it. It squealed and smashed into a flurry of little polygons. A little bag was left over and a notification told her that she had gained some experience.

"Not bad" Norie said as she walked closer to Sachi. "Now I want you to follow up a little more. This isn't a turn based game where you allow the enemy a chance to retaliate, because if you do, it might end up killing you. You need to be able to kill your enemies without giving them the opportunity to strike back." she explained. "And don't be scared if you get hit. Okay? Just get back up and give it to them twice as hard!"

"Got it" Sachi said setting her sights on the next wolf. She charged again towards it using Slant on it. She wasn't as scared as before.

"Now! Strike now while it's stunned!" Norie said.

Sachi hastily used Diagonal again in the opposite direction causing the wolf to get knocked back, bursting into polygons. Sachi was panting because she was so nervous at Norie's instructions, but she knew that the only thing Norie wanted was only the best for her.

"Good!" Norie said clapping. "Now, keep practicing that some more. Feel free to improvise and create your own techniques okay?" Norie said turning the other way. "I'll be hunting some myself also" she said pulling Ellen out.

"Do I have to do anything?" Ellen yawned.

"Leave it to me. These are low level mobs after all" Norie said dashing away. "Be careful"

"Create my own techniques..." Sachi thought to herself gripping her sword with both hands. She had her sights on a nearby wolf; using a skill that Kirito had taught her called Sonic Leap. She dashed towards the wolf slashing downward. She didn't stop in front of it though, because she wasn't used to using this skill before and stopped a little bit away from the stunned wolf with her back turned to it. "Don't give it a chance to strike back..." Norie's voice rang in her head turning around, tilting her blade forward and using Sonic Leap again, ending up back where she was standing before she engaged the wolf. It burst. After calming down a bit, she sat down to take a short break. Huffing and puffing, she glided her hand over the surface of her sword. The moment of resting passed, and Sachi was back on her feet fighting, fighting to get stronger. She hacked and slashed at the wolves, taking them down one by one, just like the monsters did to her friends. Eventually, she didn't even keep track anymore, she just fought. She acted on an instinct, she didn't really think about anything. After slaying another, she found herself standing in the middle of the plain panting and sweating. She heard a low growling that seemed to come from every direction. She was surrounded by wolves. They were growling lowly ready to pounce on the one who had slain so many of their kin. Sachi looked around her unsure of what to do. "Stay calm... stay calm Sachi..." Her voice rang inside her head trying her best not to panic. The first wolf had charged forward and pounced at Sachi; she forcibly used Vertical; slashing upward to force the wolf into the air. She then held her blade straight parallel to her face and lunged forward stabbing the wolf. As it burst into little triangles, a second wolf pounced at her from behind. "Shoot!" She thought to herself because she knew she couldn't react in time. She braced for a hit, but instead, she heard someone shout followed by a loud thud that was heard from right behind her.

"Need some help?" A familiar voice asked.

Sachi looked behind her only to see Keshiga pulling his spear from the ground. "Uh.. yea.." she said still a little surprised.

"It was a rhetorical question" he replied with a smirk as the wolves surrounded them. "I'll take half, you take half?" he asked with them back to back.

"Sounds like a deal" Sachi replied as a wolf charged towards her. She was more confident now that Keshiga was fighting by her side. She promptly cut it down with a Vertical down slash and looked up. There were about 5 wolves on her side and assumed the same more or less on Keshiga's side. She looked at her sword. With enough force, she could one shot the wolves. The only problem is that she could only strike so fast.

Keshiga on the other hand handled it a bit differently. After stabbing one wolf, he spun his spear around at the ones surrounding him to keep them at bay for a second. Then, he jumped and used Leap a skill unique to spear users; one that Sachi was quite familiar with at that matter. It involved the user to jump upward and land on top of the foe bringing a downward stab with a spear into the enemies' skull, most likely causing a one shot kill with most normal mobs. After killing the first wolf, he then spun his spear around to keep the wolves around him away. It was a dual headed spear after all, so it made hitting enemies that got too close easier. One wolf managed to conjure up the courage to dive at Keshiga. As it ran in to bite at him, he spun around to hack at its face stunning it for a second before he spun slashing the wolfs face again with the opposite blade. Immediately after slashing, he then got into a charging stance in burst forward with a stab effectively slaying it. Of the three remaining wolves, two of them decided to team up on him running towards him from the same direction. The first one jumped up to pounce on him. He darted forward ducking and stabbing the wolf from under with his spear. Not forgetting about the other one, he brought the bottom of his spear forward and made an uppercut bringing the first wolf slamming into the ground impaling the spear deeper into it. The second one was in mid air and Keshiga jumped over it using it as a boost to get him higher by kicking it down into the ground. This was followed by a loud battle cry that he used as he leaped into the last wolf, impaling his spear into its head. When he got up, all the wolves that he had slain burst into countless shapes, only leaving bags of loot behind.

Amidst of this fighting, Sachi had her own problems to deal with. After she struck down the first wolf with a down slash; she looked up to see a wolf charge at her. She got into stance, and used Sonic Leap to charge right past it delivering a killing blow. She felt a wave of adrenaline sweep up in her system. Another wolf managed to bite her arm, and without thinking, she cut it down mercilessly. "Two down, three more to go..." she thought as she shook off her wound. That bite caused about a fourth of her health to go down. The other three wolves were ready to move if she did, so there was a small stand off for a couple of seconds. One of the wolfs decided to start moving forward as it dashed towards Sachi. This time, Sachi managed to concentrate and execute her abilities in more control. She used Sonic Leap dashing past it delivering a killing blow to the first one. The second and third decided to attack Sachi from both sides. One was going to pounce in the air while the other charged from the ground. Sachi had to act quick, and without thinking, she used Vertical on the wolf charging on the ground. Then she ducked to cause the one pouncing to jump right past her giving an opening. She herself charged towards it and used Uppercut followed by a downward Vertical

The adrenaline disappeared from her system as she wiped the sweat from her brow. The fight was over. "Haha" she chuckled to herself falling on her bottom taking a little rest. The Level Up notification sounded. She had hit level 27.

"Good job" Keshiga said sitting down next to her patting her on the back. "Here's your share" he held a small bag out to her which contained all her loot compiled into one.

Sachi took the bag with a smile, it contained some cor, crystals and potions; nothing too rare.

"Drink some" Keshiga said holding an HP potion up to her. She had remembered that she had taken a hit from the wolf. Taking the HP potion, she sipped slowly being careful not to drink too much as her health slowly went back up to full.

"Those were some cool skills you pulled out there" Keshiga commented. "Where did you learn them?"

Sachi was quiet for a moment putting the half full HP potion back in her inventory. "A guild member of mine."

"Guild? But I thought..." Keshiga tried his best not to say died.

"Well, he is the only remaining member alive other than me" Sachi replied in a tender tone looking up at the noon sky.

"I see" Keshiga said getting up and dusting his back off. "I think we should meet up with Norie now. I'm getting a little hungry"

Sachi almost forgot about that, especially when all these things were happening. Her stomach growled rather loudly and she said "Yea! Let's go"

Norie was sleeping at the base of the tree with her cap over her eyes. She had a piece of straw hanging out of the corner of her mouth while she snored lightly. The hill had a good view of the area, so it was perfect for the picnic that she had laid out for them. A classic red and white blanket was spread out with a picnic basket right on top of it. Ellen tip toed to the basket and peeked inside. "I see you" Norie muttered even though her cap was over her closed eyes.

"Bawww, you're no fun" Ellen complained as she hovered up to a branch on the tree to relax a bit.

Sachi and Keshiga made their way up the hill, only to see this rather subtle scene.

"About time you guys got here" Norie said pulling her cap back over her head and yawning.

"GWAAAAAHHHH" Ellen said popping out from the tree with the same mask on her face the first time she tried to scare Sachi, and it worked.

Sachi squealed as she run away hiding behind Keshiga.

"Hahahah!" Ellen laughed holding her sides. "Oh... oh this is too easy..." She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Hey, I thought I took that away from you" Norie said snatching the mask again.

"You little runt!" Sachi said pinching Ellen's cheeks with her eyes filled with rage.

"Owwww!" Ellen complained yet again. "I'm sowwie, I can't hep et"

After the little bit of messing around was over, everyone sat down to enjoy a nice lunch. Norie had prepared some sandwiches for everyone to eat along with a bottle of apple cider that she had bought from town.

"So? How is everyone's training going by?" Norie asked after she finished chewing.

"Pretty well" Keshiga said finishing off a sandwich. "We were kind of surrounded by wolves before we came here"

"How did that go?" Norie asked a little surprised.

"Good actually" Sachi replied sipping from her cup.

"You mean you two were fighting off a pack of wolves?" Norie asked pointing at the two.

"Err yea" Keshiga said getting a little full of himself through the praise of a higher level.

"Well that takes care of my next lesson for you Sachi." Norie said patting her on the shoulder. "I'm proud of you; taking on multiple foes isn't easy."

Keshiga half heartedly smiled. "She didn't even say anything to me..." he thought as he grinned.

"Well I wouldn't know what to do if Keshiga wasn't there to help me out" Sachi said a little timidly. She wasn't used to receiving praise from people that were more skilled than her.

After finishing their lunch, they took a little break to let the food process. Norie was a sleep again and Ellen was hanging out in the tree while Sachi and Keshiga sat next to each other in awkward silence.

"Okay, back to training" Norie said getting up and dusting her back off. "We'll train for a couple more hours and then we can call it a day."

Both Sachi and Keshiga nodded in reply and got back to training. Nothing very eventful occurred that is worth mentioning. After a couple of hours, Sachi decided to take a break and check the time. It was about 5:30; getting closer to the evening. She certainly got a lot of training done today; she was proud of how much progress she had attained. Two days ago, Sachi was level 25, now she was level 29 after the training she underwent. As she sat, she thought about her guild members.

_"Someday we'll go up to the ranks of the Knights of Blood and the Holy Dragon Alliance!" Tetsuo's voice rang in her head. _

_"Oi oi, now slow down a moment. We have to reach level 30 first" Keita's voice said._

_"But that's impossible!"_ her own voice rang as she said it through her mouth at the same time. She smiled bitter sweetly; she was glad that she did what she thought was impossible, but at the same time, she couldn't share that joy with them. After a little more silence, the alarm rang to tell her she had a message. It was from Norie. It read:

Alright, meet up at the inn at 6:00. That way we can have dinner and get some rest for tomorrow. Don't go into the danger zone alone, stick together. Sorry I can't guide you guys myself, but I have some business that I have to tend to. I sent an acquaintance of mine from the past to guide you guys through. You'll find him on the outskirts of the forest around where we entered.

"I wonder what business she's talking about..." Sachi said to herself as she opened her map to try and locate Keshiga. Eventually, they found each other and headed towards the designated point. As they made their way there, they saw a young man waiting around.

"Umm, are you the one sent by Norie?" Keshiga asked.

"Ah, you two must be Sachi and Keshiga" he said. "My name's Taru" he introduced himself. He had rather longish blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore full plate armor in addition to his shield and sword.

"Nice to meet you" Both of them replied.

"Norie told me that you guys were training here, but didn't know the way to through the danger zones" he said signaling them to follow. "So, as a former pupil of hers, I was more than glad to give her a hand"

"So you two have met before?" Sachi asked following him along with Keshiga through the forest

"Yea, we were actually classmates in high school" Taru replied as he jumped down from a large tree trunk.

"Did you like her?" Keshiga asked. "Like, like like her" he quoted using his index and middle finger of both hands.

"No, she was a really close friend, but I have a girlfriend in real life." Taru replied stopping a bit giving a hefty smile.

"What was she like?" Sachi asked curious to see how Norie was like in the real world. Even though she can ask Norie herself, it would be nice to find out from other people that know her.

"Not much different from here" Taru replied as they exited the danger zone and back onto the path. "She's kind, caring. She's always there when you need a shoulder to cry on. Just come to her and she'll hug you tightly and cry with you; your problems are her problems." There was something wrong though, it was as if Taru was fighting back tears. "Sorry, I tend to cry easily" he said wiping his eyes. "Where was I? Oh right. I always go to her for any sort of help; she's the most reliable person I know." Taru suddenly stopped as he started tearing up again.

"Umm…" Sachi said moving her hand to place it on his shoulder, but he cut her off halfway. "I'm fine" he said wiping his tears again.

"What's wrong? You can tell us" Keshiga reassured.

Taru took a breather and closed his eyes. "Everyone goes to Norie for support, but she can't go to anyone for support." He said walking again. Sachi and Keshiga simply looked at each other confused by this statement. He looked back at them with a rather saddened look on his face. "Norie's family was broken."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – A Bit of Memories

Authors' Note: One person seems to have notified me that my grammar might have some problems. I don't see any. So if you think that there's something wrong, please notify me about them.

_I remember, one day after school, I asked Norie if she wanted to go with my friends to grab dinner. _

"_Sorry, I'm busy today Taru" Norie replied putting her books in her bag and getting up. She slung her bag over her shoulder, but she winced in intense pain as she gripped her searing shoulder tightly._

"_Are you okay?" I asked with the utmost concern._

'_I'm fine" Norie shrugged me off as she headed towards the door._

"_Norie, what's going on?" I thought to myself. Did something happen on her way to school? Or something at home? I wouldn't know. But what I did know is that this is not like Norie at all. She would never reject a dinner invite from anyone. It's been like this for a while. It also seemed that Norie was getting injured somehow. Last week it was her leg, the week before that it was her back. I saw it too, a large bruise was on her knee. It looked very painful. When I asked how she got it, she said she tripped somewhere, but I know that was a lie. She's trying to cover up something. I know it; I'm not like one of those characters where you tell them any lie you want and they'll fall for it. _

_I got home and laid down on my bed wondering about today. I decided maybe I should take a walk to take my mind off things for a while. So I did. I didn't realize it at first, but I was outside Norie's house; just staring at the window of her room. It was dark. Everything was quiet, but after listening more closely, I heard….crying? I looked around to find the source, and it led to an alley not far from her house. I saw a figure gleaming in the moonlight, and to my horror, it was Norie holding a gun to her head. _

"_Norie!" I yelled as hard as I could as I ran towards her hugging her tightly with tears in my eyes. "Why? Why would you even…think… about doing this…"_

_Norie simply sighed as she lowered the gun. She started to cry even harder as she slumped down on the alley wall covering her face. _

"_What's going on Norie?" I asked wiping the tears. "Don't lie to me anymore!"_

"_I..I..I can't take it anymore…" she said painfully. "My family is broken Taru" Her eyes stared at me all puffy and red. It was the first time I actually saw her eyes, a beautiful shade of lavender. "Dad drinks all the time, mom doesn't even care anymore. They always fight over such little things. He tried to strangle me earlier"_

"_Strangle?" I said abruptly. This was more than I anticipated; this was what Norie was hiding? _

"_He blamed me for my sister having cancer." Norie said rubbing her neck. There were purple and red marks around it. "Why me?" she asked breaking down even more. "Why? I'm a good girl! I do good in school, I try to help my parents out. But…but they always shoot me down! Ha, look at me. I help all you guys out yet, I can't even help myself."_

_All of this made me feel sick. But I didn't know what to say; I simply sat there next to Norie. I just cried silently with her. It felt like hours, but eventually, she dried up and stood up. _

"_Please don't…." I pleaded as I held her hand. "Please… don't leave us…"_

_She simply smiled at me with the tears flowing down. "I can't leave yet, people still need my help" she said walking away. _

"Norie…." Sachi muttered shocked by this story, such a terrible past. Sachi wouldn't know what she would do if she were in Norie's position, it was amazing to Sachi how Norie still stood so strong.

"She's so strong to keep going, yet suffers so much…" Keshiga said shaking his head. He himself never really had any family issues.

"I know how you feel" Taru replied pointing to the Village. They weren't too far. "Please try to keep this a secret from her okay?"

Both of them nodded in reply as they traveled further eventually making it to the north gate. As they entered the gate, they were greeted by Norie and Ellen. "Yo!" she said doing her usual two finger flick greeting. "Thanks for getting them for me. I owe you big time"

"It's okay Norie, after all, thanks for all the help you gave us" Taru replied with a chuckle.

"If you say so" Norie shrugged as she noticed the two glum faces trying to avoid her gaze. "What's wrong with you two?" she said leaning on the both of them from behind bringing their heads closer to hers. "C'mon guys, let's go to the inn and have a nice hot dinner okay? You guys deserve it"

Sachi felt rather lightened up. Despite what Norie has experienced, she still had a big smile on her face giving everything she's got to helping others. She nodded with enthusiasm signaling Keshiga to do so also. He grinned and said "Yea!" And so they were off to the inn.

The air wasn't as lively as the inn back then, but instead, a little more peaceful. Keshiga decided to play a soft tune to keep the mood the same. Ellen was snoring next to Norie after all her drinking. Norie was stroking her hair gently. The two indeed seemed very close to each other.

"Are we going to keep training tomorrow?" Keshiga asked. Norie shook her head in reply.

"Actually, we're going to embark on a quest tomorrow." She started explaining. "Listen up you two. The reason I was busy today was because I was getting some of the preliminary stuff done for a quest. You know, NPC stuff. Now that I got that out of the way, we can proceed to the actual fighting. The level recommendation is 30, so you'll catch up probably mid dungeon. I assume you guys are close to level 30 right?"

"29!" They both said in reply. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Hmph. Well, we are all set then" Norie said crossing her arms.

"Don't forget to tell them what the quest is" Ellen noted amidst her snoring.

"Right. This quest involves us retrieving an item at the end of a dungeon located to the east of here. They say the dungeon is long and does have a lot of monsters in it. Most of them seem relatively easy, but try not to get surrounded. It'll be good training, so try to get as much experience as possible. There will be a boss at the end, so we'll need to work together to take it down. Once we beat the boss, we can then retrieve the item and take it back to the NPC for our reward." Norie explained.

"D-dungeon?" Sachi said getting a little nervous.

"Don't worry, there won't be any traps, just spawns at certain places. You'll know when you see it" Norie reassured drinking her cider.

"If anything happens, I'll be there!" Keshiga said pointing to himself with a hearty laugh.

"Does Taru want to come?" Sachi asked Norie.

"It's okay; I've got some errands to run with guild members tomorrow." Taru replied. "But if you guys ever need any help, the Errand Knights are there to help"

"We'll be fine Taru" Norie said patting him on the back. "Don't worry about us."

The evening went on to night time. "You two should get some rest; I'll be there in a little bit." Norie signaled them to go.

"Okay then, you get some rest soon too" Sachi said getting up and telling Keshiga to go.

As they left, Norie simply looked at Taru with a gentle smile on her face. Ellen was sleeping still.

"You told them didn't you" Norie said still smiling.

"Sorry" Taru said rubbing the back of his head. "But how did you know?"

"It's fine, I was planning on telling them sooner or later anyway." She was stroking Ellen's hair again. "Well, when they came with you, they were pretty gloomy. That's not like them."

"Hmph" Taru said crossing his arms with a slight grin. "Does she remind you of her?" Taru said pointing at Ellen.

"Every day" Norie replied tenderly.

"Do you know if she's still alive?"

Norie shook her head looking down at her lap. "She's probably dead by now. Mom and Dad are probably divorced. They've probably left me there on my bed to rot until I wake up."

"Don't think like that Norie"

"Don't worry about me. Just concentrate on yourself. "She said getting up.

"You should accept other peoples help once in a while you know"

"I'll try to keep that in mind" Norie grinned back as she carried Ellen on her back. "Stay safe" she said giving a thumbs up.

"You too" Taru replied as he chuckled to himself. "_That girl sure is something_"

"Hey Keshiga…" Sachi asked as she swung her feet from her bed.

"What is it?" Keshiga replied as he sat down on his bed chewing on a piece of chocolate. Thankfully, Norie managed to find a three bed room for them.

"What was your life like before all this?" she asked trying to look away. Norie's life spurred a curiosity to find out about her party members pasts. Keshiga told his life story. He had 2 older brothers and 1 younger sister. He played in a band and was in the school music club. He started to pluck the strings of his lute in a song that he wrote a while back. He performed it at the school concert. The songs melody was strangely familiar to Sachi; it was as if she had heard that somewhere, but she couldn't remember where.

"But otherwise, there's not much else to say about me." Keshiga replied putting his lute down.

"I see" Sachi said lying down on her bed. Her mind started to wander. "_Kirito…. I wonder how you're doing_" she thought to herself staring at the ceiling.

Norie opened the door sighing as she adjusted Ellen sleeping on her back. She noticed that Keshiga and Sachi were still awake. "You two should be getting some rest."

"Was just getting to that right now!" Keshiga replied taking his plate armor off and pulling the sheets over his head. "Night!"

Norie laid Ellen down on her bed and tapped her head lightly. Then Ellen disappeared back into her cutlass. She smiled tenderly as she laid her sword down gently.

"You sure love her don't you?" Sachi asked.

"With my life" Norie said smiling as she pulled her boots off. "Don't worry about me okay? I'll pull through" she showed that she knew Sachi knew about her life.

"I want to be there to help you" Sachi said with concern.

"Me too!" Keshiga replied eavesdropping. They made it obvious that they knew.

"You guys…." Norie muttered as she sighed. "Thanks" Pulling the sheets over herself, she chuckled.

"_You think you can live in this household without respecting your father?" A man yelled out._

"_N-n-no. I—I didn't mean to disrespect you dad.." A girl stuttered in fear as she started sobbing. _

"_It's your fault Norie! It's your fault she's dying!" The man yelled out throwing a half empty beer bottle at the wall. The loud shatter scared Norie even more as she was gripping her head on her knees. _

"_I didn't mean it! I'm sorry! I couldn't do anything about it…." Norie muttered as she started sobbing even harder._

"_Couldn't do anything about it?" The man screamed even louder. A woman was in the kitchen not bothering about the events unfolding. "She's dying because of you!" the man said as he dived at Norie wrapping his hands around her throat. _

"_S-stop it!" Norie said gasping for air. "Mom! Help me!" she gagged. The woman ignored her pleas for help. The man started to bang the back of her head against the wall, each hit made Norie more and more dizzy. Her lungs were screaming for air as she tried to fight him off. She reached for anything, anything that she could use to hit him with. She reached around desperately until she felt the cold surface of a beer bottle. With all her might, she smashed it against her father's head causing him to get knocked out cold. His grasp loosened and Norie backed away as fast as she could gasping for air. _

"_Hey! Clean that glass up!" Her mother screamed. Norie said nothing to her and ran up the stairs to her room. "One pull to end it all…" She moved some papers and books to reveal a hidden cabinet; she opened it. "One pull to end it all…" She took out a package wrapped in a cloth and unraveled it."One pull to end it all…" It was a gun, a simple hand pistol; perfect for making an exit. She hid it under her shirt and went down the stairs, "I'm going out" Norie said. What was the point of saying that? No one would listen anyway. The tears were flowing down her cheeks as her heart raced. She walked as fast as she could to the nearby alley where she took the gun out. She slowly pulled the gun up to her head with her hands shaking. Her index finger slowly moved inward._

_Bang!_

Norie woke up breathing heavily and sweating as she got up to a sitting position. Everyone was still asleep. She looked out the window, it was still night. She rubbed her face with both hand and laid back down. She sighed as she closed her eyes. "Just a dream…"

_Norie's eyes opened to a green plain, tall grass was flowing with the wind. Then a girl said "I love you onee-chan!" as she hugged Norie. She had pink shoulder length hair and had a childish innocence on her face._

"_I love you too Ellen" Norie replied holding Ellen close to her with a smile. _

_They were sitting at a tree, with Ellen snoring lightly on Norie's lap. Norie gently placed a hand on Ellen's head. She breathed in the fresh spring air and breathed out before she herself closed her eyes and went to sleep. "I'll never leave you…"she mumbled._

**June 15, 2023**

Norie slowly opened her eyes to hear the birds chirping and the sun rays gleaming in the room. She slowly got up and rubbed her eyes, and to her surprise, Ellen was curled up next to Norie. She simply smiled, brushed Ellen's hair and kissed her on the forehead. She got up being careful not to wake her up as she put her boots on. Sachi and Keshiga were still asleep, so Norie decided to take this time to order some breakfast for them.

Sachi woke up drowsy eyed. "Yawn~" she rubbed her eyes adjusting to the morning light. "Where's Norie…" she muttered before she closed her eyes again and went back to sleep. The training yesterday was pretty tiresome.

Norie carried a platter with plates and cups on it up the stairs as she hummed a lively tune. The breakfast this morning was assorted fruit flavored Danishes and warm milk. She opened the door and let the aroma enter the room. "Breakfast guys!" She said placing the platter on the table. Ellen got up slowly as she rubbed her eyes. "Breakfast?" she yawned.

"Eat up, we have a long day ahead of us" Norie said handing Ellen a plate with a Danish on and it and a cup of warm milk. "You guys too" she said doing the same before she sat down next to Ellen eating her own breakfast. Everyone was chowing down on their breakfast silently. As they finished, "Let's go" Norie said, and the group went their merry way east of the Village towards the Mountains.

**Note: Just to be clear, Norie's actual sister is NOT in the game. The Spirit Weapon Ellen is basically an AI that by chance took upon almost all the properties of Norie's sister Ellen. Thus, why SW Ellen resembles Norie's little sister in real life.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Embarking the Quest

Authors' Note: Remember, feedback is always wanted, even if it's bad!

"Where's the entrance? Are we lost?" Keshiga asked looking around. It seemed that they were walking for quite a long time.

"No, says here on the map that we're not too far." Sachi replied looking at her map. The flashing dot that indicated the location of a quest destination was near. They eventually reached their destination, it was a door.

"Is this it?" Ellen asked.

"This is it" Norie replied as she opened the door. Then, multiple monsters appeared behind them, "An ambush!" Norie yelled pulling Ellen out. The monsters were orcs, each of them armed with a club and shield. They were a little bit bigger than Norie but not nearly as smart.

"Wh-what!" Sachi said getting frightened pulling her own sword out. She her heart was racing and she was trembling a bit, but not as much as before. It was clear that she was trying her best to muster up her courage. She had to flush out her timid instincts and become more determined, assertive.

"Finally some action!" Keshiga said twirling his spear around. The orcs started charging at the group, the first one pounded down on Norie, but Norie parried and cut it down. Keshiga used Leap and that left Sachi to deal with the one she was up against. It glared down on her as she held her sword up to show that she wasn't afraid. It laughed as it pulled its club over its head ready to pound down. Sachi shut her eyes out of fright. Norie noticed this.

"Sachi! Keep your eyes open; never close your eyes when fighting!" Norie yelled out as she dodged an orcs club and stabbed it.

Sachi kept that in mind as she kept her eyes open no matter what. As the orc struck down, she orientated her sword so that it blocked the strike. She felt a large force push against her arms about to knock her back, but she fought against it and pushed the orcs club away. "Don't give it the chance to attack again…" Sachi sounded in her mind as she lunged at the orcs midsection stabbing it smack in the middle. It moaned in pain as it was stunned for a second. Sachi then took this opportunity to use Horizontal on it giving the finishing blow. After the last orc was killed by Sachi's hand, she gave a glad sigh.

"Big improvement right?" Norie said chuckling picking up loot bags. Sachi simply smiled and nodded.

"Ow…" Keshiga said rubbing his back. "Got a little reckless back there" His HP bar had some missing from it, but still remained green.

"Should be more careful" Ellen noted waving her finger.

"I know" He replied gulping an HP potion.

"Getting hurt already? We're not even inside the dungeon yet!" Norie joked moving towards the door. "Alright, let's go" she said signaling everyone to follow. For a while, it was a narrow hallway that had torches lit occasionally. Sachi felt a little uneasy as she gripped her sword a little tighter. After a bit more walking, they stumbled up on a large door with a lock on it. "Hmm" Norie said tapping the lock.

"_You must defeat all monsters on this floor"_ A voice rang in everyone's heads.

"I knew it" Norie said pointing in each direction. The walls disappeared revealing a hallway on each side. "There are multiple dungeon rooms in each of these hallways. We have to defeat all of the monsters in the room in order to find the key to this door. Then we can go on to the next floor." She explained. "Come, if we had one more person, we could have split up to make this faster. " She led them down the hallway to the left. There were multiple doors on each side of the hallway, about 3 in total. Norie opened the door to the first one and signaled Sachi and Keshiga to follow. It was a rather well lit room by multiple torches. Chains were hanging off the wall giving an eerie feeling. There was a single chest in the middle of the room. Sachi shivered at the sight of it as the image of her near death experience flashed in her head. Keshiga noticed this and put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll be okay." He said.

Sachi simply smiled and nodded a yes. She had to fight in memory of her guildmates; she had to make it out alive. That's what they would have wanted.

"You guys ready?" Norie asked as she got closer to the chest. Sachi got held her sword with both hands in front of her.

"Ready!" Keshiga replied getting ready.

Norie opened the chest and there was a small delay. "Where are they?" Sachi thought to herself as the monsters appeared around them. They weren't too outnumbering, but it still would be easy for them to get outnumbered if they weren't careful. The monsters were skeletons; they were armed with clubs and axes. The fight ensued, and Sachi tried to keep a confident mind when blocking attacks. Keshiga was having a hard time because the dungeon roof was low, so he couldn't use Leap which was his signature skill. Sachi blocked a skeletons attack and struck it down, but at the same time, another skeleton was charging straight at her from behind as she was moving forward. She knew she didn't have enough time to turn around and block it. So she was about to stop in her tracks to take the hit.

"Fall forward!" Norie yelled out.

Sachi heard this and let her body move forward. The skeleton struck down barely missing her. This gave Sachi enough time to turn around and take a swing at the skeleton.

"Graaahhhhh…" A skeleton murmured as Keshiga impaled is spear into its head.

"Take that!" He said picking up the loot bag it left behind.

"Well, that was the last of them" Norie said dusting her hands. Sachi was breathing a little heavily. "Don't get too worn out okay?" Norie commented. "Try to take it easy."

"I'll try" Sachi said calming herself.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it at this rate. Oh, and try to put more points in Dex okay? It's important for you to dodge attacks since you aren't too keen to parrying or tanking" Norie said patting her on the head. "It was a good thing I told you to move forward. Those skeletons aren't too fast"

"Hey Norie, how long is this dungeon anyway?" Keshiga asked as Norie led them to the next door.

"Hmm, judging from the look of this layout, I say about 2 floors, one more just like this, then a boss room at the end of that floor" Norie said opening the door. This dungeon room was just about the same as the last. So the party did their usual thing. Now that Sachi had gotten used to the skeleton patterns of attack, she had little difficulty dealing with them. She was amazed at her progress; only three days ago she was too scared to look a monster in the eye let alone fight it on her own. They cleared the second and third rooms within a timely manner. Thankfully, no one lost any HP during those instances.

"Now onto the next hallway" Norie said leading them past the large door. It was the same layout as the first. She opened the door and the party did the exact same thing the first time around, but this time, the monster spawn was giant spiders. They spawned and Sachi screamed. If it was one thing that she'll never overcome, its spiders. She stood there trembling as she looked at the giant spider as it walked around aimlessly.

"Ahhh you're scared of spiders!" Ellen said as she poked Sachi's cheek.

Norie chuckled a swell, "Don't worry, their attack patterns are the same as frenzy boars. They won't aggro you unless you attack. "She said as she demonstrated.

Sachi watched and stared at her target spider as it stared back. Its dozens of eyes sent chills down Sachi's spine as she held her sword up and took a deep breath. She charged forward and struck the spider. It squealed a bit as it tried to nip at Sachi's leg. Sachi tried to dodge its bites, but one of its razor sharp teeth managed to scrape her leg. She yelped a bit and struck it again making it burst into millions of pieces. A little bit of her HP dropped at first, and she started feeling queasy. Her body felt a little weird and she felt rather nauseous. She noticed her HP started to drop little by little. She gasped scared out of her wits. "N-Norie! What's happening?" she asked.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you that they were venomous. Their attacks are weak, but they'll inflict poison for a little bit" pointing at Sachi's HP bar. It stopped dropping and ended up around 80%. "Good thing the poison level is very low, so you won't suffer too much" Norie was right, Sachi felt better. Her stomach stopped hurting and her body felt normal again.

"Yahooo!" Keshiga said in glee as he stabbed down at the spider's heads. "Gotta smash me some spiders!" He certainly did seem to enjoy this very much. The party went through the same routine for the remaining two rooms. When Norie finished off the last spider, it dropped a key. It was a rather small key, roughly the size of the one on the door earlier. In front of the large door, Norie stuck the key inside the lock and turned. Something clicked and the chains became loose and the door opened. Both the lock and the key disappeared revealing a hallway. Norie signaled for the party to keep moving. Eventually, they made it to a single room with a flight of stairs going downward on the other side. There was a fountain in the middle of the room. The water was clear and it gave a refreshing look.

"Erm… Is this a trap?" Keshiga said looking at his own reflection in the water.

"I hope not" Sachi said also looking at her reflection in the water.

"_Drink the water, and it will heighten your progress."_ A voice rang inside the ears of the party.

"Ah, this is an experience shrine" Norie said snapping her fingers. "Drink the water and it will give you experience basically; one scoop with your hand" Norie said as she scooped her hand in the water. Surprisingly, her glove didn't get wet, but her hand felt cool. She drank the water in her palm. "See?"

Sachi hesitated a bit while Keshiga scooped up the water and drank. "Hey, it's true!" Keshiga said. "I went from 82% to 97%!"

"Really?" Sachi asked as she decided to scoop up some of the water and drink it. Even though she was wearing gloves that covered her entire hand, she still felt to cold sensation of the water vibrate through her fingers. A window popped up that said "Level Up! 30!"

"Grats" Ellen said patting Sachi on the shoulder. Ellen's been so quiet lately since they entered the dungeon.

"Good job" Norie said giving a thumbs up.

"C'mon! Let's go! We have monsters to slay!" Keshiga said as he pointed down the stairs. He eagerly made his way down as everyone followed him in pursuit. A short hallway was at the bottom followed by another room with a large door. This time, the door had a skull on it. The instructions were the same as the first floor. So the two hallways on the side formed, but this time, there was only one room. Each with larger and mixed spawns of skeletons and giant spiders. After clearing both rooms, the boss door became unlocked. Before opening the door, Norie asked "Do we need a little break?"

"Sure, why not" Keshiga said shrugging as he sat down on the cold stone floor sipping an HP potion. "Do you know what the boss is?"

"Honestly, I do not know" Norie said shaking her head. "All we can do is open the door and see for ourselves." She replied as she got up. "Are we ready?"

Everyone nodded. "Okay, the boss room will be larger, so you can use Leap Keshiga. No matter what the boss is, I'll keep it occupied by blocking attacks. Sachi, I want you to strike when it's occupied with me got it?" Norie explained.

"Got it" Sachi understood as Norie tapped the boss door. It pushed itself open as it split into two separate doors revealing a large empty room. The group walked in slowly with their weapons drawn and their attention on the alert. There was nothing, the room was quiet and no monsters were present.

"What's going on?" Sachi asked looking left and right.

"Yea, there's nothing here" Keshiga said loosening himself out.

Norie was a bit suspicious at first until she heard a stretching sound. It was followed by some sort of liquid dripping from the ceiling. Norie held her hand out to catch it; it was a purple liquid. She looked up and gasped. There was a large spider, much larger than the ones they were fighting. I'm talking about massive. It was upside down on the roof and it looked as if it were ready to drop any time. "Everyone split up! Get to the edges of the room now!" Norie yelled out making sure everyone did what they were told. Keshiga and Sachi were a bit startled by her outburst and split up as fast as they could. A second after they got away from the middle, the large spider went crashing down onto the floor in the middle of the room. "Thorn Spider" the name said above it. Sachi's worst nightmare had manifested herself right in front of her. Her hands were shaking as she muttered in fright "That spiders….massive…." she gulped.

"A spiders a spider! I'm gonna squish it!" Keshiga said running up towards the spider and jumping up high. Norie got in front of the spider by its face and slashed at it to get its attention. It squealed in anger as it jabbed at Norie with its massive razor two front legs. Norie deflected the attacks with the occasional dodge and slash to the face of the spider. "Sachi go!" she called out when she could.

Sachi gripped her sword to calm her trembling hands and ran up to one of the spider's legs and started slashing at the upper portion.

"Haaaaaa!" Keshiga grunted as he landed on the spiders back impaling his lance into it. The spider jerked around in pain as it shook and shook to get Keshiga off. He eventually lost balance and was thrown into the wall. As it flailed, it also slammed into Norie knocked the air out of her for a bit.

"Keshiga!" Sachi said taking worry in her comrade. The spider then took notice of Sachi while Norie was out; it turned to jab at her. Sachi held her sword up blocking the first jab of the spider's leg. Due to her trembling, she let it slip and barely miss her as she took this chance to slash at its face. It was distracted for a moment as it lifted its other leg about to jab down before Norie stabbed its side. As Norie pulled her sword out, the spider turned to her and continued its relentless jabs and stabs. "Try… to…stab….it!" Norie said pausing in between words because of her parrying. Sachi did as she was told. When she found an opening, she dug her sword into the side of the spider, making its HP drop bit by bit. Norie was blade to blade with the spiders left front leg. She managed to parry it and dive under digging Ellen into the upper leg and pulling upward, cleanly cutting the leg off. The spider flailed in pain swing and jumping around at its lost leg. Sachi was pushed back by its lashing legs and Keshiga tried to avoid using Leap for now.

"Almost done!" Keshiga said pulling his lance up again. The spiders HP was around the 27% range, almost dead. As Keshiga charged towards the back of the spider, it lashed around smacking Keshiga with its remaining arm knocking him into the wall again. The spider turned its attention back to Sachi, still lashing at her with its remaining leg. Norie was trying to diver its attention desperately, but without avail. "Sachi! When you block, try to dive and cut its leg off!" Norie cried out stabbing the spider over and over to try to divert its attention. Sachi was still busy struggling against the leg of the spider. It was pushing against her and she didn't know how much longer she could hold on. Then, she focused her sight on the upper leg attaching to the body. She figured that she would let go and duck causing the leg to go over her and then dive under to cut the leg off. When she found an opening, she executed her plan. She bent her knees and pulled her sword away from the spider's leg causing it to hit the ground behind her. Her heart skipped a beat as she heard the razor talon slice into the ground. "Don't lose focus!" she thought to herself in the milliseconds between her dodging and her twisting her sword inside the spider's leg. As she pulled her sword away, the spider moaned in pain as its last front leg was cut off. It sulked in pain for a moment giving Sachi the opportunity to give the final blow. But before she could, the spider looked p at her and roared. It mouth was completely exposed revealing hundreds of teeth with two large pincers. Sachi was caught completely off guard as she screamed dropping her sword and falling on her bottom on the ground. The spider was upon her getting closer and closer as Sachi stood there unable to move out of terror.

"Sachi!" Norie called out trying to run to Sachi's aid. It seemed as if Sachi's doom was upon her again as the spider opened its mouth about to devour her.

"Get away from her!" Keshiga yelled as he fell from the sky jamming his spear as hard as he can into the skull of the spider. He fell with such force that he caused the spider to lose balance and drop to the floor. It squealed one last time before dying. Sachi just sat there staring at the spiders empty eyes. Her heart was beating so rapidly, yet, her breathing was still the same.

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out trying to pull his spear out of the spiders head. He pulled one hard pull and fell back. After he got up, he jumped down and shook Sachi "Hey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I...I..I'm f..fine" Sachi managed to say still trembling.

"That's a relief" Norie said as she examined the spider's corpse.

"Ewwwww! It smells!" Ellen said pinching her nose.

"Hmm, let's see. Norie said as she carefully cut the pincers off the spider. After she did, it slowly dissolved into triangles. "The items we need to return are these" she said as the two large pincers disappeared into Norie's inventory. "Good job Sachi" Norie said kneeling down and placing a hand on her shoulder. "It was brave of your to face your fear of spiders like that."

Sachi was silent for a moment. "Hey…you're right!" Sachi said with more enthusiasm. She did conquer her fear of spiders, to an extent at least. It felt good, to have courage.

"Well, looks like no one suffered too much" Norie said taking a look at everyone's HP bars. Despite Keshiga's hits to the wall, he didn't take too much damage.

"Erm how do we get out?" Keshiga asked looking around.

Norie pointed to another door on the opposite side of the room. "There's a teleportation stone that will take us to the entrance" she explained as she helped Sachi up.

"I'll be okay " Sachi said using her sword to support herself up. Her legs felt like jelly, so it felt rather ticklish when she took a step.

"Hmm, Sachi's scared of spiders…" Ellen muttered to herself for everyone to hear with a mischievous grin on her face. Everyone knew what she was planning next.

"Not anymore!" Sachi said coming up from behind Ellen and pinching her cheeks like that.

"Bluurrrrrrr!" Ellen gargled as she tried to make Sachi let go.

Norie opened the door and there was another room. This time, it was rather small and there was a midsized floating crystal near the back and three treasure chests closer to them. "Seems like a dungeon reward" Norie muttered opening the chest. Everyone else did the same. "Hmm, an amulet; extra defense is always a plus." She said as she equipped it.

"Cool! I got a better spear!" Keshiga commented as he equipped it. It had the same dual heads the way he liked, but a different look to it. "What did you get Sachi?" he asked.

"Erm, I got…" Sachi said taking a look. "Aqua Skirt" it said so everyone can see.

"Wow, you sure are getting lucky drops huh?" Norie commented. "Three pieces in 4 days, pretty remarkable."

Sachi equipped her new piece to the set. The skirt looked relatively the same on her; it wrapped around her legs a little tightly and had short slits that allowed her to spread her legs a little more. Otherwise, it still retained the dark blue color of her old skirt. Flipping through her inventory, she noticed that there was another window next to her equipment description. It said Aqua Set Bonus. The category that said 3 Piece Bonus gave her additional Dex, Str, and Def. Same with the 6 piece bonus and 9 piece bonus, but the stats it gave were much higher with the more pieces you got. Maybe this was to make it a late game viable armor set. Because it's a lower leveled equipment set, collecting the whole set made the stats rival even the higher level equipment.

They were ready to go, and Norie tapped the crystal and a blue light engulfed the entire party. Pretty soon, Sachi found herself outside the dungeon, it was nearing evening.

"Let's head back to the inn" Norie said leading the way. When they made it back, Norie decided to turn in the quest to get their reward. Each party member received experience based on their level, a set amount of Col, and an additional item of certain rarity, ranging from C-B.

Keshiga received some knee pads the provided good defense. Norie got a belt accessory that increased HP, and Sachi attained a strange gem. It was untradeable.

"What is this?" Sachi asked examining the item. It was an aqua blue square gemstone. It felt cool in Sachi's fingers. She read the item description to everyone.

_Legend says that this stone was destined for the wielder of a unique weapon. Whoever is in possession of this item should seek out the Ancient Ruins of Saraata. There, they will find the mystery behind this stone._

Sachi said nothing and simply glared at this gemstone. "A unique item…" she said to herself, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "Norie, do you know anything about this?"

Norie shrugged. "Sorry, I have no clue. Wish I could help you there"

Keshiga said the same. He had no idea what it was talking about. Sachi was still deep in thought concentrating her eyes on the gem as they sat down in the dining hall.

**June 22, 2023**

It's been a week since Sachi was revived and started her second life. During this week, Sachi had experienced things that she thought she would never do. From gaining the courage to fight her fears, to becoming more concentrated and assertive, she had resolved to become stronger.

With the help of Norie and Keshiga, she had become much more capable of fighting monsters without getting scared. From the support of her friends and her own will, she was shaped into a fine fighter; capable of dealing with the dangers of the outside.

"C'mon Sachi! Eat or else your food will get cold!" Ellen said munching on some bread. They were sitting down for dinner after a long day of questing.

"I guess…" Sachi said still examining the gem in her inventory.

"Are you still obsessing over that gem again?" Norie asked taking a spoonful of soup.

"Ah" Sachi nodded.

"Don't think too much about it okay? Try to take your mind off things once in a while" Norie said waving a bread stick around.

"So what are we doing tomorrow?" Keshiga asked with enthusiasm.

Norie's tone suddenly became more serious compared to her more lax nature. "Well that's what I wanted to talk to you guys about right now"

Both of them looked at Norie to see what she had to say.

"It's been a while since I've been to the front line, so I've been thinking about going back and helping everyone progress for a while. "

Sachi's heart felt a little weird as she knew what Norie was going to say.

"As much as I loved to fight alongside you guys, I think that we should go our separate ways for now."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – Going Parted Ways

**June 15, 2023**

"W..wait! We've only been together for a week!" Keshiga got up trying to persuade Norie.

"I know. I wish we could be together for longer, but I feel that this would be best for each of us at the moment. You guys have been accelerating exceptionally well. But, I want you guys to be self sufficient. You don't have to solo, but if in any case that you are alone, you're prepared. "Norie explained. She wanted Keshiga and Sachi to venture out into Aincrad without her guidance so that when they meet up again, rather than being pupils to Norie, Sachi and Keshiga would be partners instead.

Keshiga simply sat down still rather angry and sad. Sachi was still rather heartbroken. Where would she go after this? She would be alone, with no one by her side.

"Stay strong you two, even if I'm not there with you guys physically. I'll be with you in spirit, got it? Remember everything I taught you Sachi. You have great potential" Norie said placing a hand each on their shoulders. She smiled sadly, it was clear Norie didn't want to leave them as much as they didn't want to leave her.

"Will… we ever see each other again?" Keshiga asked trying to keep his hopes up.

"Of course" Norie said patting his head. "Here's the deal. I want both of you to hit level 55 by the time the New Year rolls by okay?

"Level 55?!" Sachi said in response. "But that's…" Her voice suddenly got lower as she remembered saying the same thing before. "But that's…. not impossible" she said giving a sigh.

"When the 1st of January rolls by, I'll send you a message to meet up. Assuming you guys are still alive by then" Norie said.

"Alive…" Sachi remembered that she'll be all alone. She couldn't go to Kirito for help because she wasn't ready to confront him again until she felt ready. "That's right! Solo…." She thought to herself. She thought the outrageous. The only way she could possibly get stronger to confront Kirito again was if she became a soloer. The thought of fighting alone made her even more scared, but it was the fastest way. If Kirito lasted this long as a solo, Sachi knew that she had a fighting chance of also surviving as a solo.

"Waaaahh!" Ellen cried clinging to Sachi. "I don't want you guys to leave!" she started tearing up.

Sachi didn't know what to say. "I…" she said before hugging Ellen back. "I don't want to leave either" she said before she started tearing up also. "But… we'll be back Ellen. Definitely"

"Yea Ellen!" Keshiga replied giving a big grin and a thumbs up trying to fight back his own tears.

"Re..really?" Ellen asked wiping her eyes.

"Of course they will" Norie said. "I know they will" she said smiling at the two of them. They smiled back.

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning. We'll stay in the same room tonight, but you can check out anytime you like." Norie said getting up. "Good night" she said exiting the dining hall.

Sachi and Keshiga bid her good night; it would be the last time for a long time.

"So where are you going to go?" Keshiga asked Sachi leaning back in his chair. Sachi thought about it for some time.

"I think I'll solo" she replied with the most serious tone.

"Solo!?" Keshiga said almost falling back. "Are you serious? Sachi nodded in reply. She was indeed serious.

"Aren't you scared that you might die?" He asked.

"I've already died once…." Sachi replied as she instantly covered her mouth. _"Shoot!"_ she thought.

"Died once?" Keshiga picked that up and started getting suspicious.

"Eheheh, forget about that! I was joking!" Sachi tried to deny it getting nervous and shaking her hands around.

"No you aren't!" Keshiga said putting his upper lip behind his lower to express his suspicion. "Tell me what really happened"

It seemed that Sachi couldn't evade it this time. She sighed and paused for a moment. "What really happened was…. I actually died, along with the rest of my guild. Norie was the one that revived me"

Keshiga wasn't sure whether it was true or not. He just sat there in thought. "So that story you told me was a lie?"

Sachi nodded with a sense of guilt on her face. She was expecting Keshiga to scold her, so she braced herself.

"So… can you tell me the real story?" Keshiga said as he loosened up again.

Sachi looked up at him, he didn't look angry, he just looked...a little hurt. So she took a deep breath and told him the true story. The story of her life before the death of her guild mates, how she met Norie, and up until she met him. It hurt Sachi, to have those words come out of her mouth. It was very difficult indeed. In her mind, it was as if she was reliving those events for a second time. She couldn't help but cry when she retold the events of her guildmates. Afterward when Sachi finished her story, Keshiga was silent for a moment just crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

"Gaaaahhh!" He said scratching his head. "It must have been painful… to live on when all your friends are dead…" His hands were on the back of his head. Sachi lowered her head a bit it was true, she couldn't deny the feelings of sadness and regret. "Hey! Don't worry. You have me, and Norie, and Ellen by your side!" he got up and patted Sachi on the head. "We'll be by your side. And your guildmates will be by your side. Always" he said staring into her eyes. His words were filled with motivation.

Sachi nodded smiling despite her red puffy eyes.

"I'm going to sleep now." Keshiga said patting Sachi softly on the head. "Try to get some sleep soon okay?"

"Yea" Sachi replied as she watched Keshiga walk away. After maybe after an hour of silent staring at the fire, Sachi decided to go to her room.

**June 16, 2023 **

Sachi woke up bright and early, and to her surprise, everyone was already awake. There was a note on Norie's bed that read: _Meet us outside_

So she did so. Everyone was waiting outside for her. "There's the sleepyhead" Norie commented as she signaled hello.

"Morning!" Keshiga also waved.

"BWAAAAHHHHH!" Ellen was wearing the mask again and suddenly popped up in front of Sachi. Again, Sachi screamed and backed up as fast as she could, but this time, she didn't get angry or pinch Ellen's cheeks. This time, she laughed. Everyone laughed alongside Sachi, but her laughs eventually turned into crying. "Hey… I didn't go too overboard this time did I?" Ellen asked a little nervous.

"No…no. It's not you Ellen" Sachi said wiping her tears. "It's just that… I'll miss all of you guys" she wrapped her arms around Ellen.

Norie was crossing her arms. "I'll miss you guys too"

"Same here" Keshiga replied.

"I'll miss scaring you" Ellen started tearing up as she pulled the mask off her face to wipe her tears

"And I'll miss doing this!" Sachi said pinching Ellen's cheeks one last time as she snickered.

"Wahhh!" Ellen said whining yet again. Norie sighed as Keshiga playfully watched the two quarrel.

"I think it's about time I should go" Norie said getting a teleportation crystal out. "It was nice to teach you guys" Norie said placing a hand on Sachi's shoulder, which eventually turned into a hug. After, she did the same to Keshiga. Before going, "Remember Sachi; trust in yourself, you'll go far. And Keshiga, try not to get too reckless okay?" Norie said grinning.

"I will" Both of them replied.

"Good. Well, this is good bye." Norie said using the crystal. A blue light surrounded her.

"Good bye!" Ellen said smiling and waving while letting her tears freely drop.

"If you ever want to visit me, I'll be in the front lines" Norie said waving back before she disappeared. There was a message left over on the floor where she stood. Sachi, curious of its contents, picked it up. There was a message attached to it.

_Here are some funds to help you guys out. Stay safe_

Attached to the message was a rather large amount of Col, even more than what Sachi had ever earned before. It was an even number, so Sachi and Keshiga decided to split it up evenly.

After a moment of silence, Keshiga said "I think I'll go too. I'm meeting up with my guild members to party with them." He pointed his thumb behind him towards the transfer gate. Sachi nodded walked with him towards it not saying a word, she was a little nervous as she was going to give Keshiga a little surprise. They made it to the transfer gate and Keshiga was ready to go. "Good luck being a soloer Sachi. Stay safe" He said placing a hand on her shoulder. About to transfer, Sachi stopped him.

"Keshiga wait!" Sachi said looking down at her feet out of timidity.

"Huh?" He asked looking at her. Did she not want him to go?

Sachi hesitated for a moment, and then she looked up and leaned towards his face kissing his cheek. "T..thanks" Her face was a bright hue of red. Keshiga couldn't help but blush at Sachi's innocent face. "I mean it…" he said smiling. "Goodbye…" he said as he was engulfed in a blue light. He disappeared.

"Goodbye…" Sachi said smiling to herself. She checked the party; it was empty save for herself, the party leader. She was alone again. No, she shook her head. She was alone physically, but the spirits of all her friends were with her. A big grin made its way across Sachi's face. "I will get stronger!" she yelled out as loud as she could. She didn't care if people thought she was weird for yelling out in public like that.

It was Sachi's goal from this moment on, no, even before this moment, to become strong enough to defend Kirito. To repay him for all those times he defended her. Gripping her sheathed sword, she transferred.

"Maybe… maybe it was fate that gave me a second life." She thought to herself opening her eyes. The image of a large bear came crashing down right in front of her. It roared spewing a hideous odor as its' hot breath spread across Sachi's face. "No matter. I've been given this second chance…" She pulled her sword out and pointed it at the bear, "And I'm not wasting it!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – An Untimely Greeting

**Aincrad 46th****Floor, August 23, 2023**

**Edit: There's a huge error with the floor. The 50th floor was cleared in early 2024 according to the time line, so I have to adjust the floor number at the time this is happening.**

**Edit 2: Revised some parts of the story to make it not seem so rushed.**

"Oof!" This was starting to look ugly. Kirito's HP had hit the orange. His battle healing regenerated at a slow and steady rate, but if he keeps sustaining damage like this, it wouldn't be too good. Screams and yells were going all about through the boss room of the 46rd floor. Kirito looked around him, chaos everywhere. The boss itself was a much more difficult than the others Kirito had faced before, not as hard as before, but still rather difficult. It was a large worm like monster called the Worm King. It popped from the ground about five times Kiritos' height. When it attacked, it simply smashed its' head against the ground, or dove opening its' mouth to eat prey. The mouth wasn't pleasant either, when you got to the head of the worm, there was a hole for the mouth. It was circular with spiky teeth all around. It had countless minions digging up from the ground giving sneak attacks to the entire party. It could knock back the entire party with one sweep.

Slashing down worm after worm, Kirito suddenly found himself fighting back the Worm King yet again. After he repelled he its attempts to crush him against its weight, two minions had wrapped themselves around his legs immobilizing him. "Crap!" he thought aloud before pulling his sword up to slice them off. "The one time Asuna's not with us…" Another minion wrapped around his sword hand preventing him from reacting. He pulled and pulled, but he couldn't break free. Looking up, he saw the Worm King getting ready to flop on him. As it swung down making a body slam, he heard the sound of piercing. He soon found himself free of the minions and seeing a hooded figure blocking the Worm Kings attack. "Switch!" The figure said repelling the Worm King. Kirito took this chance to deliver the final blow. As he dug his sword into the Worm Kings body as deep as he could, he then pulled upward slicing it open. It sunk down slamming into the ground twitching a bit before bursting into millions little triangles. As soon as everyone saw the boss dead, they cheered.

"Next floor here we go!" one player called out.

"Just fifty-four more to go!" Another said.

Amidst of the cheering, Kirito picked up his loot. "Thanks for the save" he said to the hooded individual. He turned to face them, "Long time no see Norie"

"So you saw through me…" Norie replied pulled her hood down. "How did you know?"

"There's no one other than you who can parry as well as that"

"Well I am the Parry Master after all." She rubbed the back of her head.

"So this is Kirito!" Another voice said. Kirito looked around to see who it was. "You never told me he was the Black Swordsman!" The figure of a small girl appeared floating next to Norie.

"I told you before, you just never listen Ellen" Norie replied pulling Ellens' cheek playfully. "Oh, that's right. Kirito, this is Ellen, my spirit weapon."

"Spirit..weapon?" Kirito asked. He had heard of them before, but he wasn't exactly sure what their properties were.

"The sentient equivalent of a beast tamer"

"Ah" Kirito understood this instantly. Spirit weapons had only human appearances while the partners of beast tamers were only animals of some sort.

"C'mon! Let's go explore the new floor!" Ellen said tugging at Norie's unicorn tail and pointing towards the door the rest of the party was going through.

"Alright alright. How about we catch up in town?" Norie said nodding her head towards the door before making her way towards it.

"Yea" Kirito replied following her.

**ooo**

"So how long has it been?" Kirito asked sipping his tea. They were sitting in a little café located in town. The town was called Cellsoth.

"Well let me see, the last time we saw each other was on floor 32" Norie said tapping her chin. "Pretty long time, I say… about couple months?"

"Sounds about right"

"So what have you been up to? Hitting high levels I presume?" Norie asked taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

"Well I hit level 61 not too long ago" Kirito whispered trying to keep his level low. He knew Norie wouldn't be jealous or angry if he told her his level.

"Huh, kudos to you" Norie said raising her mug in celebration. "I just recently hit level 54"

"Haha, it feels good to reveal your level to someone who won't scorn you for being a beater" Kirito said loosening up.

"Ah don't worry about it. Beater or not, you're helping all of us out. I know you have your heart in the right place" Norie waved her hand as she took a drink of her beverage.

"Thanks Norie" Kirito said sighing, "Have you joined a guild yet?"

"You still sulking about the Black Cats?" Norie replied. "No I haven't. Don't plan on either"

He nodded in reply. "It was my fault; it was my fault she died. If I just told them my level, they would have avoided that dungeon. All of them still would have been alive if I just told them" Kirito mumbled covering his face with both of his hands.

"Ah don't worry! She's…" Ellen started to say before Norie cupped her mouth.

"Keep it shut about Sachi" Norie whispered as Ellen nodded. "Don't sink too low" Norie tried to comfort Kirito. "What's done is done, I don't think Sachi would hate you, ever. "

"I still don't even know what her last words were. I'm sure they were words of hatred and cursing" Kirito said taking a guilty sip of his tea.

"Don't think that" Norie said taking a bite of the last cookie from the pastry dish in front of her.

"Hey! That was mine!" Ellen said trying to grab the cookie.

"I'm paying for your food; you could at least give me this!" Norie said using her free arm to push Ellen away.

Kirito grinned lightening up a bit. "You two sure are close aren't you?" he asked resting his head on one hand.

"A lot of people tell us that" Norie replied dipping her cookie in her hot chocolate.

"Huh" Kirito muttered looking at his reflection in his tea. What did Sachi say to him in her final moments? He wondered. That single scene of reading Sachi's lips played itself over and over in his mind; he couldn't stop it until Norie broke the endless loop.

"I should get going now." She said finishing her drink. "I'll be around town for a bit if you need me" Norie got up and Ellen followed. As she made her way out, she patted him on the shoulder. "Stay positive okay? For Sachi"

"I'll try my best" Kirito said smiling "Hey!" he said before she left.

Norie turned around to see what last request he wanted.

"Thanks for the save" He pointed and winked.

"Anytime" Norie gave a thumbs-up as she walked out the café and out into the newly discovered town. "She's cheerful as always" he said to himself pulling his arms back and leaning in his chair glaring up.

**August 24, 2023**

Norie yawned loudly as Ellen floated behind her. "You didn't have to wake me up so early you know" she said.

"Well the bakery might be out of cheesecake! You know how popular they are right?" Ellen asked pointing at the bakery. "C'mon hurry! They might be sold out already!"

"Alright alright" Norie said jogging into the bakery. She went up to the counter and said "One cheesecake please" At the same time, the voice of another person sounded at the same time as hers did saying the same phrase. She looked to see who it was, it was a young man. He had brown spiked up hair with a red bandana wrapped around his head. He had a slight goatee growing on his chin and wore rather eastern like armor.

"Erm…" Norie said to him, "You wanna split it? I'll pay for half you pay for half?"

The man simply rubbed the back of his head. "Yea sure" he said giving a hefty grin. "I wasn't planning on eating it all anyway."

"Yes!" Ellen said all excited that she finally gets to try out her cheesecake.

"Thanks" Norie said giving half the amount of the price of the cheesecake to the NPC. The man did the same and he split the cake in half handing it to Norie. "Here Ellen" she said breaking her half in half and giving to Ellen. Ellen bit down happily as she moaned in delight at the taste of the cake.

"Heh, that's some partner you've got. Spirit weapon?" The man asked.

"You got that right" Norie replied flashing the hilt of her glowing cutlass.

"That's uncanny" The man replied rubbing his chin examining the glowing weapon. "Lucky for you eh? I'm Klein" he said giving a handshake.

"Norie" She greeted taking his handshake.

"You look like a strong player, might I interest you in joining my guild Fuurinkazan?" he asked.

"No thanks, I have no interest in a guild at the moment" Norie declined.

"Aww, that's too bad. Oh well." Klein wasn't too disappointed. He was quite used to getting people to reject his guild invites. "Say, I'm going on a quest with some friends of mine, would you like to join? We could use a player like you."

Norie thought about it for a moment. "Well, I'm not busy today since The Army isn't making a move for the next floor yet. Of course, I'm a little short on money because this girl keeps on wanting me to buy snacks for her, so sure" she shrugged.

"Great! Let's go meet up with the rest of my party" Klein replied sending her an invite.

"Right" Norie said accepting the invite and following him out of the bakery.

**ooo**

"Where is he?" Kirito asked himself looking around. "He's late…" Maybe Kirito should send Klein a message to hurry up. Before he got the chance to do so, Klein called out in the distance.

"Oy, Kirito! I bagged us another party member!" He ran to catch up trying to catch his breath.

"Took you long enough" He commented crossing his arms. "The rest of your guild got here before you did"

"Haaa, did you have…to run?" Another person said catching up with Klein leaning on the fence.

"Eh… Norie?" Kirito asked a little surprised.

"Kirito?" Norie asked. "Small world…" She fixed her cap.

"You two know each other?" Klein asked scratching his head.

Kirito nodded "Ah, we sometimes fight alongside each other during boss fights" he said.

"Well then, I guess there's no need for introductions!" Klein replied. "Eh… Norie, this is my guild" he added introducing her to each member.

"Pleased to meet all you. I hope we all get along. Now, what are we doing exactly Kirito?" Norie asked

"Well, there are rumors that there's a hidden S-rank treasure deep inside the Ancient Ruins of Saraata. It's pretty dangerous, so Klein asked me if I could join him." Kirito explained.

"Yea haha…" Klein said giving a wry laugh. "Our guild is pretty strong, but we could always use a helping hand. So I decided to party up with my old buddy Kirito here!" he said wrapping his arm around Kirito's neck. "He is the first other friend I made in this game after all"

_"Wait…. Ancient Ruins of Saraata…."_ Norie said rubbing her chin

"Is there something wrong?" Kirito asked.

"No, it's just that I remember one of my friends had an item that mentioned that place" Norie replied remembering that Sachi indeed had a jewel that mentioned the Ruins. "Never mind, we should get going"

"Yea we should" Klein said looking at his map. "According to Argo, the Ruins should be somewhere to the northeast of here" he pointed in the general direction. "She told me that there is a large stone pillar with a blue gemstone inscribed on it that'll teleport us to the Ruins."

"Are you sure we can trust her?" One of Kleins' guild members asked.

"I've used her services before. Besides, she helped right this" Kirito said pulling out a small book.

"Tell you the truth, I find that no one reads the manual" Ellen said

"I use it" Norie objected.

"Well you're a book worm!" Ellen replied not knowing what to call Norie. "Mnnnnnn!" she said sticking he tongue out at her.

"Alright then, squabbles aside! Let's get a move on guys!" Klein said getting enthusiastic now. He trotted down the path with the rest of his guild.

"I think we should join him" Kirito said giving a dry chuckle.

"Yea.."

**ooo**

"There it is…" One of the guild members said spotting the pillar a distance away. It stood about 4 meters in size and molded into it was a blue square gemstone that emitting a faint blue glow. It was low enough for someone to tap.

"Umm, does anyone know how to sue this thing?" Klein asked scratching his head while examining the gem. It was about twice the size of a teleportation crystal.

"I think you do this…" Kirito said as he tapped the crystal a few times. Then a blue light surrounded the party and they were teleported to a narrow hallway. Torches hanging on the walls of the hallway were the only source of light. It led them to a room with two doors. Kirito tried to open the first on the left. A voice sounded in the ears of the party members.

_Only the one who possesses the gem may open this door_

_"Gem?" One of Kleins' friends asked._

_"You know anything about this Kirito?" Klein whispered._

_Kirito only shook his head. "You're asking the wrong person."_

"_Then only Sachi can open that door…_" Norie thought to herself as she opened the next door on the right."Here guys!" she motioned entering the room.

"Huh? It's empty" One guild member said examining the empty room. There literally was nothing in it. There was a suspicious aura in the room, as if some trap was triggered.

"That's weird, why would it lead us into –"Norie was suddenly cut off as the floor suddenly disappeared. Everyone was falling midair. Norie was holding her cap down from blowing with the wind. Everyone was screaming and howling except for Ellen.

"I don't see what's so scary" She remarked as she floated next to Norie. "You're just falling" Of course, no one paid attention to her because they were trying to anticipate what was at the bottom of this chasm. Eventually, they fell into a pool of water. Everyone was taken off guard by this and wasn't prepared. After struggling to push back up to the surface to get a gulp of air, they noticed that they were in an area lit by numerous blue lights. Otherwise, the sky around them was pitch black.

"Are we all okay?" Kirito asked squeezing the water from his cloak. Everyone had swum their way to the "shore" which was actually a gray stone floor.

"I think so" Norie replied taking her cap off and dumping the water that collected.

"Where are we…" Klein asked examining his surroundings. Everything past the pool of water was pitch black. It seemed that if you tried to swim to the other side of the pool, you would never find it. The walls around them were stone, only to be illuminated by the glow of the blue flame torches. Before the party stood a flight of stairs that looked endless, as if it led to heaven itself.

"Says here we're in the Ancient Ruins" Klein said taking a look at his map.

They started up the stairs. It seemed endless. They kept going up and up and up in the same direction until they eventually reached a small platform. A small podium with a blue orb gleamed in the darkness. They simply nodded at each other to give the okay for Kirito to teleport them into a new area. Pretty soon, they were standing in front of the gates to an underground city. The gates, a former symbol of glory, were now just an arch. It was missing both iron doors and the top of it was crumbling away. The architecture of the city resembled that of some sort of Greek variation as the party examined it more closely. On both sides of the street, homes were lined up with the occasional shop like stand. They entered a small house that was the first one that was still in decent shape.

"What happened to this place?" Ellen asked gazing at the run down home. No one answered. No one knew what happened to this place. Kirito led the way as the party explored. They rummaged through old house searching for anything really. Dusty chests that contained nothing but cobwebs and spiders, vases and jars that were once used to hold water now were stained with the water line. Furniture virtually snapped if you tried to sit on it and crumbled to dust.

"Hmmm, nothing" A guild member said searching a chest. Nothing but old candle stands and useless books.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Kirito asked.

"It says here that we are looking for a book, a tome to be more precise" He replied dusting himself off. "But where do we start? This place is too huge for us to explore." He was right; the house was on the hilly portion, so it overlooked most of the city.

"There has to be some clue" Norie was looking at the quest description. "Otherwise, this quest is just a lost cause.

"Hey! It says here that it's located in the heart of the city. "Ellen noticed.

"Alright!" Klein said getting up. But he noticed something was wrong. "Wait… where is the center of the city by the way?"

"You have a point" Norie said as they continued down the hilly path.

Kirito looked up, "Down there" he pointed. All the way in the distance, the path they were on led straight to a large plaza area in circular shape. In the middle of the plaza was a large temple.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Klein asked starting to run. "C'mon guys! The quest isn't going to complete itself!"

"Hey wait up!" One of his guild members shouted dashing to catch up.

"Don't have all the fun without us!"

**ooo**

"You didn't have to run you know" Norie asked panting. They had gotten to a mini-plaza that was halfway through to their destination. The plaza was run down, loose tiles everywhere. Dirt holes littered the place. An ancient fountain in the center contained only moss. Half crumbled pillars with partially demolished buildings lay scattered around the plaza. There was an ominous feeling, it felt like there was the presence of something else in the area.

"I don't like this feeling…" Ellen said hiding behind Norie.

"Be careful, who knows what kind of monsters lurk around- oof!" A scrawny looking guild member was cutoff as something grabbed his foot and caused him to trip. "What the…" he said looking back as a hand was coming up from the ground grasping onto his leg. It was bony and bits of flesh were missing. Then the figure of a zombie had surfaced to the ground slowly. It was a gruesome sight, molds of flesh were sagging from the bones while the red color of its muscles made it sickening for anyone to look at. The scrawny boy yelped and grunted in disgust as he pulled his sword out and sliced its' arm off before cutting it in half. Pretty soon, zombies were popping up from the ground in the plaza. They advanced slowly towards the party.

"Monsters!" Someone called out. Everyone drew their weapons and engaged the zombie army.

"There's something wrong…." Norie said cutting down a zombie.

"What do you mean by that?" Kirito asked back to back with Klein.

"These zombies are too easy." Norie replied. Something strange was happening. Normally, if you defeated a monster, they would explode into shapes. These zombies didn't do that, if you sliced their head off, the body and head would still remain and won't shatter. Then, the body parts of the fallen zombies started amassing together creating multiple large "super zombies". They were huge, possessed large upper bodies. Their bodies had stitch marks that differentiated the body parts of one zombie with another. The color difference from the body parts from red, orange, purple, green, and brown, also made a sickening and intimidating appearance.

"Whoa!" Klein said dodging the downward pound of the large zombie. He managed to cut the arm off but couldn't react in time to stop the other.

"Anyone know what these things are?!" The staff wielding member asked covering for Klein, smashing the other arm before repeatedly bashing the abdomen of the zombie.

"Yea! Ha!" Norie said fending off an attack. "These are called Patchwork Zombies. Ha!" She delivered a counter attack cutting through the arm as the zombie punched. Norie then slashed a leg off causing it to fall. The zombie hollered as it punched Norie straight in the torso with its free arm. "Ack!" Norie muttered in pain as she clutched her stomach.

"Norie!" Ellen called out worried.

"Norie!" Kirito called out running towards the downed zombie and impaling his own sword into its head, causing it to burst into polygons. "Are you alright?"

"I'm….fine" Norie said getting up slowly using Ellen as a support. Her HP had hit down to the 70% mark. "That was a pretty big hit, even for me."

"What do we do?" One member asked. "At this rate, those Patchworks will outnumber us!'

"These zombies are made by those Wailing zombies, and Screaming zombies, combining into one." Kirito said pointing to the two types of zombies. They were clearly defined by color. "Prevent these two from mixing. Be careful not to get hit." Everyone understood the plan. Kirito and some of Kleins' guild members would handle the screaming zombies while Norie took care of any patchworks that formed as well as assisting Klein and the rest in taking care of the Wailing zombies.

After a hefty amount of fighting, all the zombies were eventually cleaned up.

Norie fell back on her bottom giving a "Phew"

"Well that was actually some good training" Kirito said checking his experience.

"I told you!" Klein said giving a chuckle.

"That fact aside, Kirito, how did you know the pattern about the zombies?" Norie asked.

"All in here" Kirito said flicking the manual.

"Remember to tell me to thank Argo for writing that" Klein said giving a half hearted chuckle. That manual had a lot of information, so it was amazing to him that someone would go through all the trouble of sharing it with everyone else. Though, maybe that was part of his lazy personality.

"Well I do have some periods of free time once in a while" Kirito said getting up and sheathing his sword.

"So what do you think that S-Ranked item is?" Klein asked getting up himself.

"I dunno" Kirito replied looking at his surroundings. "We should get a move on. More might spawn soon."

"Yea" Norie replied munching on a piece of bread breaking a piece for Ellen. So the journey continued to the center. Since there were no zombies in sight, the party took it rather slow and gave some leeway for casual chat.

"So do spirit weapons help you in combat in any way?"Klein asked.

"Well, Spirit weapons have an active skill and a passive skill. The active varies with the user, and can only be unlocked by doing a certain quest. I haven't done that yet, so I only have the passive. The passive varies also; Ellen gives me an additional 300 proficiency on my Parry. "Norie explained.

"300 huh?" Klein asked rubbing his chin. "Seems like a big buff doesn't it?"

"It is pretty big, but they are a rare occurrence after all. I mean, I think I'm the only person with one" Norie replied glaring at her glowing hilt.

"So they aren't unique?" Klein was a little puzzled.

"In a sense, yes." One of Kleins' friends butted in. "But other people can be spirit weapon users also, it's just extremely rare"

"Where'd you learn that?" Kirito asked looking back at them.

"Well…there's a small portion written in the manual about them" He said raising a copy of the little book up. "I kind of got curious"

"He's right" Norie said pointing her thumb to him.

**ooo**

"Are we there yet?" Klein asked looking at his map. "Ah! We're getting close!" he pointed to the flashing dot on the map. It was still rather far, but at least they knew where to look now. The buildings became more numerous as they got closer and closer to the heart of the city. They were still all in ruins, but the number of buildings was rather unusual. Occasionally, the group encountered groups of wailing and screaming zombies, but otherwise, there was nothing that gave them too much of a challenge.

Eventually, they made it to the heart of the city. There was a large temple before them, the steps led up the two huge doors. The temple itself looked surprisingly in shape. There were two large flame pits that still had a large blue flame burning in them. They made it up the top of the stairs and both Klein and Kirito took hold of the metal handle and pushed. The inside of the temple looked exactly like a church. The pillars lined up down the center aisle. There were about a score or two of pews that led to the altar at the end. On the altar was a tome.

"There!" Klein pointed. "Let's get it and get out of here" he said jogging down the aisle. Everyone followed, but then, the shadows started to form in front of Klein.

"Klein! Watch out!" Kirito called out as he ran towards Klein.

"What's wrong? There's nothing-" Klein was cut off by a large figure that appeared in front of him. It was a large dog-like monster, but its slender body gave it the appearance of some sort of night crawler. It was purple and a dark flame was emitting from its head and tail, its face looked like that of an alligators, but thinner. Its mouth was curved upward with two tusks jutting out of its mouth and a long serpents tongue hanging out of its mouth. Above its name read "The Plague Spreader"

"W-h-hat the hell?!" Klein said backing away slowly. Everyone was frozen keeping their gaze on the monster that appeared in front of them.

**"You dare enter my domain?"** The Plague Spreader said. Its voice sounded crackled, like that of an old mans. **"It matters not"** it said shaking its head. **"You will all perish anyway"**

Suddenly it melted into a pool of shadow, it then split to different parts of the temple. Everyone braced for an attack.

Looking around, "Is this in the book?" Ellen asked Norie.

"There was only a description" Norie muttered in return looking around. A black sort of tentacle swung itself towards Norie from the wall. It was extremely fast, but Norie was able to react just in time. The black mass collided with Ellen as Norie deflected it and hacked at it. It disappeared into a black dust. Another one came flying at her, and she blocked it, but at the same time, one more came from behind her.

"Gotcha'!" The scrawny guild member said blocking it and slashing it down.

"Thanks"

"Urg!" Klein was hit by one of them. It did quite a number, and also inflicted a pretty heavy poison. "Crap…" he muttered swigging an antidote before getting back into the fight.

"Hu!" Kirito grunted as one tentacle clashed with his sword. It was quite a strong impact; enough to send a slight shockwave through his sword and up his arm. At that instance, the number of tentacles increased. Holding his sword downward to parry one, he swung around to dispel the other three that went flying at him.

"Where are they all coming from?" One person asked narrowly dodging the black substance. Norie managed to look around getting a glimpse of the source. There were dozens of little shadow blobs that were on the walls. After firing a tentacle mass at the party, they would change locations to keep everyone uncertain about an attack.

"Kirito! Do you see those shadows on the wall?" Norie asked. Kirito desperately searched around for them, when a dark mass streamed out of the wall, he saw the brief glimpse of what Norie was talking about.

"Yea!" Kirito nodded.

"Those are causing…" Norie was cut off in the middle of her parrying. "…all of these! Can you do something to take care of them? It's impossible for us to get close to them. I have an idea!" At that moment, Norie pulled Ellen up and threw her.

"Whhaaaa!" Ellen cried. The sound of splitting air was heard followed by a crunching sound. Then a small squeal was heard as the shadow dissolved into black mist.

"Throwing!" Klein exclaimed. "None of us have knife-throwing"

Kirito hastily opened his inventory and took out throwing knives. He didn't use them much, but he figured this would be a good time to do so. "Don't worry, I've got it." Waiting a bit for the shadows to attack, he held the knife in his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the shadow moving to a different location. Right when it stopped, he turned and pulled his arm up slightly flicking his wrist, and throwing the knife. It spun gracefully in the air as it accelerated at such a high speed. The shadow squealed as the sharp weapon impaled into it.

"Get me!" Ellen cried as she wriggled around in sword mode.

"I'm commin'" Norie said running towards her companion. Just then, about 4 tentacles shot at Norie from the side. The first one tried to get at her legs, and she jumped as it collided with the ground. The second one aimed higher as Norie ducked. The third and fourth went at the same time aiming for both high and low. Unsure of what to do, Norie leaped forward and tumbled narrowly avoiding them only receiving a slight scathe on her arm. Kirito took this opening to throw knives seamlessly at the target sources. All four shadows exploded into a black mist. Norie pulled Ellen from the wall, before she could get back with the party, one last tentacle shot up from under. Managing to stop in time and used Horizontal she then twirled Ellen holding her backwards and stabbed downward into the ground, killing the shadow. But this time, it didn't burst into black mist; instead, it started causing its way up the blade and into the glowing orb at the hilt.

"What the…" Norie muttered examining Ellen. The golden orb at the center of the hilt had a slight black dust swirling around with it. On top of the light glow of the blade was also the same thing.

"This…feels….weird" Ellen moaned feeling dizzy.

Norie was concerned. "What's wrong Ellen?" she asked as Ellen appearing leaning on Norie with her arms wrapped around her. Norie felt Ellens' forehead rubbing against her leg. She was burning up. Was it even possible for a spirit to have a fever?

"I think it's the black dust" Ellen said. "It's making me feel sick"

"Alright Ellen, try to get some rest, I'll use one of my other swords" Norie said tapping Ellens head. She disappeared into her cutlass and Norie immediately switched with another cutlass. Just then, the Plague Spreader manifested itself again in front of the party.

**"Mhhhh, you have managed to survive this long. I like strong prey"** After it said that, it screeched, it was so loud that it made everyone in the party cover their ears. It took this opportunity to charge and dive for Klein. As it was midair, it spun rapidly to give off a drilling attack. A swirling black and purple mass came spiraling towards Klein. He saw it charge towards him and blocked the attack. The drilling against his katana gave off sparks at how much friction was being caused. Klein managed to push it back. Kirito and company took this opportunity to strike. While it was buffered by Klein's pushback, they took this chance to deliver a strong surround attack causing it to screech again. Kirito used Sonic Leap to get close and gave a downward followed by a Horizontal slash. As it backed up it growled in a hostile manner. It bared its teeth as a shadow formed under Norie. Before she took notice, a dark tentacle wrapped around her legs and started flailing her around.

"Waahh!" Norie was smashed against a wall inflicting some damage each time. It then proceeded to throw her against a pillar, and then dragged her along the pews. It even smashed her against members of the party.

"Ack!" Norie was getting smashed against walls, people, pillars, pews; she didn't know much longer she could hold out. She felt poison seeping into her body from her legs. It would be really bad if she allowed it to stack. She managed to brandish her sword and sever the tentacle wrapping around her legs. She went crashing into the pews. As everyone else got another surround on the Plague Spreader, it suddenly turned into a twister of dark matter. No one could get close unless they wanted to get ripped to shreds. The staff and spear user tried to combat from afar, but with no avail. Once their weapons touched the swirling mass, it instantly got sucked in. The only thing that prevented them from getting sucked in was their fear. There was a standstill. Eventually, the tornado stared moving towards the party.

"Move!" Klein exclaimed running towards the back. Some of the members started leaping through the pews to avoid the swirling mass. As it moved around to chase the fleeing members, it ripped through the pews as it sucked up the ancient chunks of wood. After leaving the right portion of the pews in ruins, it morphed back. Most of the party was hiding behind pews and stuck their heads out to see what it would do next.

Kirito charged towards it yelling as he held his sword close to the floor giving and upper slash. Right before he could deliver the blow, it disappeared.

"Again?" Kirito asked looking around hastily. The rest of the party except for Norie had gathered next to him keeping their guards up.

"How much HP is it at?" Klein asked.

"I think it was around 40%" Kirito noted as the morphed right in front of them. It charged towards Kirito and jumped upward bringing its razor sharp claws downward. The claws came in contact with his blade as it made a loud metallic clang that echoed through the entire temple. Kirito then repelled the claws and slashed at the head cutting it in half. But instead of it bursting into polygons, it dissolved into a black mist. Then another appeared on the other side of the group from the ground. More and more clones started appearing around the party. Each time they defeated one, it seemed like two more and spawned in its place. There was no end to them; it seemed as if the party would never stop fighting the clones. Klein started to crack under the number of clones they were fighting as he let one of the slash at him with its claws. They were surrounded unsure of what to do until suddenly, the clones all disappeared. The real one fell from the sky with a sword lodged inside it. Norie was panting as she had just thrown the sword. The monster got up limping on a leg. It was clear that it was badly hurt after Norie's throw.

"Got it" Klein replied holding his sword up as he charged towards the Plague Spreader. It snarled and jumped at him executing its drill skill. He blocked it to keep it at bay for a split second so that Kirito and the rest could go in behind it. As it reacted to Kleins attack, Kirito came in from the side delivering a Horizontal Square. It took the hit as it got knocked back trying to get back up. The rest of the party delivered blows of their own. It swung around sweeping its tail causing the guild members to get blown back. Before it could attack anyone else, Kirito dashed towards it delivering the finishing stab. A streak of yellow light trailed across the impacted area. It screeched one more time causing everyone to cover their ears. Kirito managed to see the scene. As it screeched, a crack in space formed causing it to get sucked in slowly. Once it was completely sucked in, the crack burst into shapes. Still on the floor, Kirito got up to check up on Klein and his guild members. Not too many major hits. They were good, but they couldn't say the same about Norie.

"Huff…huff… Good…job" Norie said resting on the pew.

"Norie! Are you okay?"

"That's…some..high…level…poison " She replied pointing to her HP bar. It was around 50%, and it was decreasing slowly.

"Will you be alright?" Klein asked motioning for Norie to drink an antidote.

"I'll..be…fine" Norie said trying to catch her breath. She waited a bit for the antidote to take effect. "Better…" she said equipping Ellen. "Ellen…Ellen, are you okay?" she asked still short on breath.

"No…" Ellen appeared resting on Norie's lap again as she appeared from her sword.

"Do you know what's wrong with her?" Klein asked checking his surroundings out.

"I think it has something to do with the black matter that came in contact with Ellen" Kirito responded giving his concerns for Ellen.

"That black matter is toxic to spirit weapons" Ellen said moaning. Her face was very flushed and her voice was faint.

"Is there a way to cure it?" One member asked.

"There should have been an item drop from the monster" Ellen managed to say. Her voice started getting hoarse and she could barely speak.

Everyone checked their inventory for the item. One of Kleins guild members had an item that he never had before, it was called "Spirit Healing crystal" The description said

_If a spirit is suffering from the plague of the Plague Spreader, use this stone on them to get rid of the toxic energy._

They gasped at something else.

"What's wrong?" Norie asked amidst of Ellen's heavy breathing.

"It's an S rank…" Klein said with a blank expression.

Norie was silent for a bit. "Don't use it on me…" Ellen suddenly said.

Everyone was surprised at this phrase. "I'll..be..okay on my own…" she buried her head in Norie's lap

"You don't have to use it if you don't want to" Norie said.

"No, it's fine" The boy said holding the stone in his hand. It was emitting a radiant shade of silver. He held it close to Ellen and it grew brighter.

Everyone came closer and stared in interest. Eventually, the stone stopped glowing as it sucked the black mist from Ellen. It filled up now being pitch black instead.

"It's not like anyone else has a use for it, right?" The boy asked giving a smile as Ellen raised her head

"I told you not to use it on me!" Ellen pouted. "Do you know how much you could have sold it for?" She certainly was feeling better now.

"It wouldn't sell you know that right?" He replied giving a nervous chuckle.

"Hey isn't that…. a Black Mist Stone?" Klein pointed out. He checked the item now. Indeed its name changed. The rarity was S also.

"How much does it go for?" Kirito asked.

"Hmmm I think around 800k Col if I remember correctly. A lot of blacksmiths want this thing" Klein replied tapping the stone in his friends' hand.

"Ohhhhh!" Ellen said with delight. "Of course, you wouldn't have gotten that if it weren't for me~" she said folding her hands giving an innocent look.

Norie simply punched her on the head. "It's his money. He can do whatever he wants with it" she sighed.

"You're so mean Norie!" Ellen said rubbing her head.

"Besides, I buy you a bunch of stuff anyway" Norie commented.

Everyone chuckled at the Ellen's pouting as the tense aura of the previous battle had died out slowly.

"Right! Let's not forget the quest" Kirito said pointed towards the podium. Everyone else followed as he picked it up. It was a dusty old tome that was locked. He moved it to his inventory as it disappeared from his hands.

"Quest complete!" Klein said making a fist with both of his hands to show success. "So how do we get out of here?" Klein asked searching for some sort of teleportation crystal.

"I think we can just use a crystal" One member suggested said taking one out.

"Yea" Norie said taking one out also.

"Shall we meet at the inn?" Kirito asked.

"Sounds like a deal!" Klein said teleporting along with everyone else. A little bit afterward, a figure appeared out of the shadows in front of the empty podium.

"_None of them were the right one_" The figure said before disappearing. "_When will it be them?"_

_**ooo**_

"Cheers!" Klein said toasting to a quest complete. "Norie was a big help to all of us"

"Ah I couldn't have done it without you guys" Norie said.

"No seriously! We needed a tank anyway" One member replied eating some of his cheesecake.

"The quest rewards were really good too!" another said putting a sack of money on the table.

"Oh, speaking of rewards, that reminds me" Klein said pulling out some bags of Col. "Here's your guys cut from the stone"

"Haaa?" Ellen asked almost choking on a piece of cake. Kirito was surprised at the amount of money they had snagged.

"You sold it already?!" Kirito asked with surprise.

"Mhm" Klein nodded taking bite of some bread. "I have a friend that's a blacksmith who could use the stone."

"Huh….. Well it is used for high level equipment after all" Norie said stirring some sugar in her tea.

"Uh… thanks Klein" Kirito said accepting the Col. Each of them received 100 k Col.

"Hey! What about me?" Ellen asked whining before Norie punched her on the head again.

"I'll split with you" Norie said sighing as Ellen rubbed her head again.

"For a spirit, she sure does drain a lot of money doesn't she?" Kirito asked chuckling.

"That's the price I pay" Norie replied waving her finger with a grin.

**ooo**

"Welp! We're going to call it a night" Klein said getting up after a hearty meal. "Hey thanks for the help guys. I really appreciate it" He gave a grin and a wink as the rest of his guild members got up.

"Anytime Klein" Kirito replied waving. Everyone else did so too.

"It was nice meeting you Norie" He said lastly before he teleported out along with the rest of his members.

"Hope we get to meet again" Norie replied waving.

"Goodbye! Thank you for helping me get better!" Ellen said with a happy tone.

As Klein left, Kirito turned back around playing with his food a bit. "Well partying with you was the last thing I had in mind Kirito" Norie said gulping the rest of her tea turning her attention back to Kirito.

"I could say the same" Kirito replied pulling one leg over his knee."Say Norie, do you have any clue what was behind that door?" Kirito asked resting his cheek on his fist. He had almost forgotten about that mysterious door. What did it mean by the one with the gem?

"Who knows" Norie shrugged getting up. "_Only Sachi will be able to find out"_

"I'll be going now." She said motioning for Ellen to follow.

"See you around" Kirito said waving. "Nice fighting today"

"Could say the same to you" Norie said waving back as she made her way to her room.

Sitting there alone, Kirito simply thought about that door. He really wanted to know what was behind it. "What could possibly be in there?"

**ooo**

"So how long has to been?" Ellen asked as Norie was lying on her bed facing the ceiling.

"How long has it been since what?" Norie asked looking up at Ellen sitting at the base of her bed.

"Since we split up" Ellen replied.

"About two months" Norie said folding her hands. It's been two months since Sachi, Keshiga, and she split up to experience the open world more.

"I miss them" Ellen said curling up next to Norie.

"I do too" Norie replied holding Ellens' head close to her. "I wonder how they're doing…"

"Awwww man!" Ellen said a little frustrated. Norie looked to see what was wrong. "My favorite pin is gone!" she showed Norie the tear in her hat.

"Which one was that?" Norie asked.

"The one with the big smiley face. It was my favorite too!" Ellen said puffing her cheeks a little angry.

"It might've come loose when we fell in that pool" Norie said. "And I'm not going back to get it"

"Why not?" Ellen whined even louder punching Norie in the shoulder multiple times.

"I'm tired!" Norie whined also try to block Ellen's punches with her palms.

**ooo**

Two figures made their way to a pillar inscribed with a blue gem.

"Is this it?" One of the figures asked pointing at the pillar.

"This is it" The other figure said pulling out a glowing blue gemstone. It reacted with the gemstone on the pillar both glowing brighter as they got closer to each other. The one with the gemstone noticed a small little pin on the ground. It was yellow with a smiley face on it.

"_They were here….Ellen….Norie…"_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – New Acquaintances

**Aincrad 43****rd**** Floor, August 21, 2023**

"That was awesome!" Keshiga said with enthusiasm to his guild leader, Futaro. They were fighting golems just about their size. They were just rocky mecha shaped warriors.

"I can say the same about you!" Futaro replied as he pulled his axe over his shoulder. "Alright guys! Let's keep moving. At this rate, we'll finish the dungeon in time for dinner"

3 other people aside from Keshiga and Futaro cheered as they raised their weapons. There were 2 girls and another boy with their group. "Let's go Futaro's Mercenaries!" they hollered.

"Yea!" Keshiga replied holding his spear up and running to catch up with the rest of his guild.

"You're fighting's improved Keshiga" One of the girls said.

"Thanks Sakai!" Keshiga replied getting a little flattered.

"Yea, he started fighting better like two months ago" The other girl replied a little sarcastically.

"Well I did get some good advice from a friend" he added.

"Doesn't matter. Keshiga can fight now, so that's a plus in my book" The guy said.

"Couldn't agree more Moto!" Futaro agreed as he led them through the caverns of the cave. They were in a cave like dungeon area where they had to explore and take different routes to get through to the boss. They were currently in a dark cave passage. They didn't know where it would lead them; they were kind of lost after all. The guild didn't mind, they were a pretty capable party in themselves. Good defense, good offense, and plenty of flexible others.

Sakai was a mace and shield user, so she was generally the tank of the group. She was clad in armor. Her helmet was simple; it was just the portion of a classic knight helmet that went over your eyes. No one knows how it stays on her head, it just does. Her chest armor was very modest and she wore a skirt that dropped a little bit above her knees. This was accompanied by shoulder pads, armguards, and metal boots. A kite shield in her left hand and a large mace in her right, she looked like the ideal defender. Despite her gruff appearance, her glasses and her short brown hair gave her a sense of patience and understanding.

Hana was the glass cannon of the group. She possessed high speed and high damage in exchange for low defense and wielded a single curved blade. She wore a greenish blue mini-skirt accompanied by black boots. Her long sleeve dress style shirt complimented her greenish blue vest that was extended on the back giving a cloak like appearance. A matching cap that was folded up on the outside was planted on her crimson hair; it gave her the nickname the Crimson from her guild mates.

Futaro was the high range damage dealer. He wore a shoulder pad on his axe shoulder, wore simple armor and rather ragged clothing. He liked that style because it defined him as a warrior. He was rather large in his upper body, and he had a slight scar on his face. He claims it was from an encounter with a cat when he was a kid. His tanned skin gave the impression that he used to work outside a lot. His green tunic in unison with his khaki pants, brown boots and gloves gave him a nice warrior edge.

Moto was melee/pole fighter. He used a combination of fist attacks along with pole strikes to deal damage. He wore a more martial arts style of clothing consisting of light and cloth armor of khaki and orange colors. In reality, he trained in martial arts before this whole incident so he was exceptional when it came to unarmed combat. Doing so in this game gave him a nostalgic feeling.

Keshiga was the spear using mid range fighter. He was wearing a full light armor set with a helmet that went on top of his head, but didn't cover any part of his face. . It curved upward kind of like a banana. His armor had a scale pattern to give him a dragon like impression. He liked it because it reminded him of the Dragoon from Final Fantasy. They were his favorite class.

"Will you look at that?" Futaro asked as they made it through to a larger cavern. He scratched his head out of surprise. A little bit away, there was a ledge that overlooked a floor of golems.

"Wow that's a lot" Sakai replied fixing her glasses. There were indeed a lot of golems down there.

"Ha! Not a problem for me!" Moto remarked swinging his pole around before accidently hitting himself in the face. "Ow…"

"Don't worry too much guys. They might be overwhelmingly out numbering us, but they're easy to kill. We just need to stick together. "Hana said with her hands crossed leaning against the wall.

"You're always in such a calm mood Hana!" Keshiga commented peering nervously down over the ledge. "Boy, that is a lot of golems…" he gulped. "Are you sure we can handle them all?"

"Of course we can." Hana said drawing her sword. Hana is always confident about any situation, no matter how grim the chances are.

"We ready? Dying is not an option! We need every member of this guild alive so we can rival the KoB!" Futaro asked pointing towards the path leading downward.

"Aye sir!" Everyone replied giving a salute to their guild leader.

"Alright! Keep each other's backs covered and let's whoop some golem butt!" He said charging down the path that led down the ledge and onto the floor below.

Everyone followed his charge as they ran down into the "Valley of Golems" Hopefully; they don't run into a death trap. There were countless numbers of golems that looked to see the party charging towards them

Keshiga jumped on Futaros' shoulders to get a boost for his Leap to land in the middle of the golem army not too far from the group so they can come to his aid if he needs it.

Sakai charged forward using Shield Bash, an ability where the user charges forward smashing their shield into their enemies, followed by a downward pound with her mace smashing golems apart. She usually was the one to distract the enemies on front to give way for Hana.

While the golems were distracted by Sakai, Hana dashed in cutting and slashing. While she did possess speed that rivaled Asuna, and damage that rivaled Kirito, one hit from a golem could bring her into the red. So she had to be extra careful.

Moto was covering Hana as he was assisting in defending her from any attacks that Sakai might not be able to cover. He can also reach farther enemies faster than Futaro because he did possess higher Dex. Because of his fast attacks, he could temporarily stun enemies with a flurry of punches and pole smacks while at the same time fending off multiple enemies at the same time.

Futaro usually does his own things. He usually charges through the front line smashing anything in his way to carve a path for everyone to meet up with Keshiga. Since he was slower, he wouldn't prove to be as effective in defending Hana. Instead, his high strength and wide range would prove to be a threat to the monsters and clear out large numbers of them, so it drove attention towards him instead of Hana.

"Everyone doing okay?" Futaro asked sweeping his axe to obliterate the golems in front of him in an arc shape. Even though his Dex is low, he made it up with strength, HP, and moderately high defense. It made him a good secondary tank as well as a pusher since he did have a large range.

"Doing good!" Hana replied dashing like lightning finishing off the golems surrounding her with a single slash. It was amazing, if you compared her speed to Asuna's, you couldn't see the difference. Their speeds were so similarly matched.

"Hup!" Moto said as he pulled his hand back from the golem after using Embracer He then proceeded to spin his pole around fending off golem punches. "I'm fine over here!" Moto was fast in his own sense. Though not as fast as Hana, he was pretty quick with his hands. His high Dex followed by his prior martial arts skill, it made him a good off tank with mobility.

"Everything's fine here!" Sakai replied blocking an attack followed by a Shield Charge. Sakai sure was able to take a lot of damage. She could get pounded by anything and hardly have a scratch. That was thanks to her high defense, HP, and battle healing.

"Things are getting a little hot in here!" Keshiga said requesting help as he struggled to block a golems attack. Keshiga was the infiltrator. Since he uses Leap a lot, the guild took advantage of this to use him to attract the aggro of monsters behind the front lines. This was a useful strategy. Since Keshiga had a higher HP pool, higher defense and good speed and damage, it made it possible for him to survive until everyone caught up with him. Since the monsters in the back would be distracted by Keshiga, the front line of monsters would be without reinforcements, thus making it easier to break through and clear the rest off. But Keshiga won't always be able to hold his own behind the front line. It's quite a dangerous task if he's not careful.

Everyone soon met up with Keshiga to relieve some of the pressure off him. After what seemed like forever worth of fighting, they had eventually slain all the golems.

"Casualty report?" Futaro asked Keshiga as he fell on his bottom panting from all the fighting.

"No casualties, minor to semi-major injury" Keshiga reported. Everyone was accounted for, only some minor hits on most of them. The only one that took a larger hit was Moto, but that was because he ventured a little too far from the party.

"Alright….whew…." Futaro huffed as he laid down. "Let's take a break."

As everyone rested, Keshiga looked around the area. There was no large boss room door. Instead, there was the usual post boss treasure room. "Hey guys, I think that was the boss!" he said sitting back down.

"Seriously?" Moto asked sipping an HP potion.

"Looks like it. There's no boss door" Sakai noted resting her hands on her shield. She pointed towards the treasure room.

"Well, it looks like we can take our time then" Futaro said closing his eyes leaning back on a rock.

"How can you sleep on the hard floor like that?!" Hana asked polishing her sword.

Everyone simply laughed as they relaxed after such a large amount of fighting. Amidst of everyone's chatting and resting, Keshiga himself rested against a rock, glaring up at the dark roof of the cave.

"I wonder how Sachi is doing…." He thought to himself.

**Aincrad 39****th**** Floor, August 1, 2023**

"_Uck….. What happened?_" There was a drowsy sensation being felt. "_Wake up Sachi, wake up!_" Sachi slapped herself to get rid of the drowsiness coming upon her as she got up. Her eyes still felt heavy with sleep. "That's right…" she said to herself sitting on the ground in the middle of the forest. She had recently fought a group of monsters. One of them, out of a final attack, inflicted sleep on Sachi hoping that its comrades would gang up on her while she was out cold. Before that could happen, Sachi had already defeated all of them. It was as if she was just taking a nap in peace. She still had to be aware of sleep PK's though.

"Yaaawwwnnn" She moaned from stretching and rubbed her eyes. "That was a good nap though" she said getting up and picking up her sword. She looked at the hilt. It was the same sword that Norie had given her two months before. The sword was very strong indeed, good enough to last her about fifteen levels. She chuckled to herself as she sat down against a tree looking up at the night sky. The blue gemstone she pulled out emitted a pale blue light as it sent a cool sensation through her fingers and up her arm.

"I wonder if everyone's doing well" she said to herself. Level 43 was printed on her status menu. "_Still quite a bit to go_" she thought getting up and sheathing her sword. She decided that she should get back to town. "Ugh, what a long day" Talking to herself, she raised her right arm upward parallel to her head and pulled on it with her left hand stretching it out.

"_H-help! Help me! Anyone!"_ A voice called out in the distance.

Sachi's eyes widened as she looked around for the voice. She had recently invested the time to level Detection, or to be more specific, Hearing. It proved very useful in finding her way around the wilderness alone. It alerted her of any monsters nearby and also notified her when other players are in the area. It would have been nice for her to be able to listen in on peoples conversations, but it required about a 900+ proficiency to even attempt to listen in. The only thing she could hear were footsteps and peoples cries for help.

"_Ahhhh!" _The voice screamed. Sachi had predicted the general direction of where the voice came from and ran as fast as she could to the source. She drew her sword again, "I hope I'm not too late!" she thought to herself. There was a clearing, and a girl was backed up against a tree surrounded by ogres. "I'm not too late!" Sachi muttered to herself as she dashed towards the monsters cutting the first ogre down. The other 3 took notice and before they could react, they were already bursting into numerous shards of data. "Ogre's, easy as usual" Sachi said to herself sheathing her sword. "Are you okay?" Extending her hand, she helped the girl get up.

"I'm fine. Thanks for saving me" The girl replied dusting herself off. Her crimson eyes stared at Sachi with gratefulness. Her black hair wasn't tied up against her head; instead, she let it flow a little bit, and then tied it up into two tails. She was wearing a sort of black jacket with a blue shirt that puffed up at the top. It gave the look that she was wearing a scarf. She was wearing shorts like Norie, and her long stockings had three belts at the top on each leg. She also wore a broad brimmed hat with a feather. A short sword was sheathed on her back and a strap for throwing knives hung from the belts on her leg.

"No problem" Sachi replied giving a wink and a thumbs up just about getting ready to leave and go back to town.

"Um, do you mind… if I party with you?" The girl asked folding her hands a little embarrassed. "You looked pretty strong, so…"

Sachi looked back and sighed as she smiled. "Sure!" She remembered that she used to have that kind of mindset with Kirito. It was rather heartwarming to remember back then.

"My name is Irina" she said as they were walking through the forest.

"Sachi" Sachi replied smiling

"If it weren't rude, but could I ask you what level you are? I'm level 37" Irina asked.

It was a little sudden, but Sachi didn't hold back. "Level 43"

"Oh wow" Irina tapped her chin in thought. "Isn't the front line level around the forties now?"

"I wouldn't know" Sachi replied. "I don't fight on the front lines"

"Eh? You don't?" Irina asked a little distraught. "You're so strong too!"

"Ahaha, I'm not front line material though" Sachi replied scratching the back of her head. "Besides, I'm busy searching for something else" She was looking up at the stars now.

"What might that be?" Irina asked.

Sachi took out the gem and showed it to her. "This gem is supposed to be the key to something, but I don't know where that something is"

"Huh…" Irina said fixing her gaze on the stone. "Is it supposed to unlock something rare?"

Sachi was silent for a moment, "It unlocks something unique. That's all I know"

"Unique…. No description on the location?"

"It just says the Ancient Ruins of Saraata, but I have no idea what floor it's on" Sachi replied. They walked through the main gates to town. "Well, I'll be heading to the inn. Do you have a room there too?" she pointed in the direction the inn was.

"Yea, but I have some business to tend to first." Irina said parting ways with Sachi. "Again, thanks for saving me" she said waving before she went.

"Sure thing" Sachi replied waving back. It felt good to her for saving others. Now she knew how Norie felt when she saved her. She entered the main lobby and checked in. After changing into her nightgown, she flopped on her bed pulling the sheets over herself. "It sure does feel good…helping…other…players…" she started to drone away snoring.

**ooo**

"What?! A unique weapon you say?" A woman sounded astonished. "Now that's some nifty info you got there Irina!"

"Thanks Rosalia!" Irina said taking a liking to the praise.

"It might go for a lot…." Rosalia noted thinking a bit. "Since she's only one person, we could go in a snatch that treasure right from her! If you score this, it'll make the Titan's Hand rich!"

All of other guild members, who had orange cursors over their heads, muttered in agreement.

"Irina, stick with this girl until she finds that treasure for us got it?" Rosalia whispered in Irina's ear. "Then, you can have a bigger split of the prize"

"Got it" Irina replied saluting and making her way out.

"Poor girl" Rosalia said crossing her legs. "Thank you for helping us find that treasure, but I'm afraid you won't be getting a piece of that prize" she whispered to herself finishing off her drink. Then, she dropped the glass jamming her spear into it smashing it into little shards with an evil smirk on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10 – Paths Intertwine

Authors' Notes: Not sure how well this chapter went out. Remember to tell me what you think!

**Aincrad 40****th**** Floor, August 16, 2023**

The top of the cliff was beautiful through the eyes of Sachi. Standing there simply scanning the area below, she felt at ease for the moment. The thick trees rustled with the wind and the mountains beyond the forest reflected the shine of the sky. "Are you done exploring?" she asked, seemingly, there was no one there.

"Yea I guess" A voice said coming from behind her. It was Irina; she was holding her hat down from the blowing wind. "Didn't find anything"

"Ehhh?" Sachi responding getting disappointed. "I really wonder where that information broker is" Giving a hefty sigh, she turned around and started walking down the path.

"Beats me" Irina replied shrugging. Irina was a thief like character that specialized in throwing knives and infiltration. So she had exceptional hiding and tracking as well has possessing really good detection. On the other side, she played a lot of instruments. She played the lute and harp, but her favorite was the flute. Often times, she plays a tune when they were traveling around in search of the Ancient Ruins.

"Well I guess we should-"

"Shhhh…" Irina said covering Sachis' mouth and pulling her to a nearby brush and placing her hat on Sachis' head. Her hat gave additional Hiding "There's someone nearby" she whispered.

Sachi understood this and turned on her scanner, there was a red cursor going down the path they were on. She yelped a little bit, red players were very dangerous indeed. It signified that the player has committed murder. They waited a bit, and the player had reached them. He was a tall slender figure. His face gave him the impression that he was pretty stressed. His eyes were droopy and his expression was rather filled with smite. His brown hair was pulled back. He looked around fixing his gaze at where Sachi and Irina were for a bit. Sachi's heart froze for as he glared at them. She managed to breathe again as his gaze went away.

He scoffed. "Hmph, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you two go. Good to see you again… Irina…." he said loud enough for them to hear. He obviously knew they were there.

Irina gasped as he said that. "C'mon let's get out of here" She hastily grabbed Sachi's hand and ran as fast as she could. Sachi followed her frantically through the forest. Eventually, they made it back on the path closer to town.

"Ha…ha… Who was he anyway?" Sachi asked gulping for air. She hadn't run that fast for a long time.

"He's a red player" Irina replied running her fingers through the blade of one of her knives.

"Obviously. How did he know your name?" Sachi asked with a sense of fright in her voice. She had never seen one up until now.

Irina gave a light frown. "The one back then…..killed one of my friends"

**ooo**

"_So what do you want to do today Irina?" A boy's voice asked._

"_Well, I was thinking we could go down to the lake and enjoy the view. But we could go somewhere else if you want Aika" Irina replied._

"_Nah, it's okay. We could go wherever you want" Aika replied gripping Irina's hand. _

_Maybe it was just Irina, but watching the sunset by the lake was a perfect honeymoon for her. "It's pretty… the sunset" Irina said resting her head on Aika's shoulder._

"_It sure is" Aika replied pulling his arm over her shoulder bringing her closer. "Let's have lunch together sometime, in the real world"_

"_That would be nice" Irina replied. _

"_Awwww how cute!" Another voice butted in. "Ah love…. Such a beautiful thing. Too bad it ends so soon" There was a man standing behind them. Irina looked back at him, his he was fiddling with a knife. His face had a maniacal grin as his tall slender figure advanced slowly towards them. He jabbed both of them in the back with knives. There was an intense feeling in Irina's back as her HP dropped slightly, and then she stared feeling drowsy and knocked out. "Aika…" she muttered._

_She awoke to find herself chained up; Aika was chained up next to her. _

"_Oh good! You're awake!" The man said._

"_What do you want with us Tsurugi?!" Irina asked terrified. She shook around and around to try to get loose from the chains, but with no avail. She was in some sort of torture chamber. There were numerous classic torture contraptions in the room. The one that frightened her the most was the iron maiden. It made her sick at the thought of needles being struck inside you with not way of escape._

"_Oh nothing. I just want to have some fun. It's good to see you've been doing well since our break up" Tsurugi said taking out an assortment of knives. He took one out and was stepping towards Irina. _

"_Stop!" Aika called out with anger. "Don't..touch her. Do it to me instead!"_

"_Playing knight are we?" Tsurugi replied giving an evil grin. "Tell me boy…" he said pulling Aika's chin up looking eye to eye with him. "Do you love this girl?"_

_Aika simply scoffed out of anger. "What does that matter to you?"_

"_Nothing…I'm just curious. I am a former lover of hers after all" He said playing with a knife. "You know, I've dabbed these knives with poison. Do you know how much it'll sting when it starts pulsing through your body?"_

_Aika was silent. Irina started breaking down. "Stop it…Why..why are you doing this? "_

"_What a drag" The man said gagging Irina. "I hate crying. It's too loud" he said before he jabbed the knife into Aika's leg. "I told you, I'm doing this for fun. It's soo boring around here in Aincrad."_

"_Gaaaahhh!" Aika screamed in pain as his HP dropped. There was an extreme pain emanating through his entire body. _

"_Mmmmmm!" Irina tried to scream, but her mouth was covered with cloth. _

"_And it saddens my heart to see a girl cry" Tsurugi muttered jabbing a knife into Aika's other leg. It sent a wave of numbness through Aika's entire body, but for some reason, he still felt all the pain as he screamed in agony._

"_Just like when we broke up. I couldn't bear the sound of your sobbing" Tsurugi said licking his lips. Irina couldn't stop crying over Aika's suffering. Time seemed endless, hearing nothing but Aika's cries of agony and suffering. Eventually, his HP had hit the red and was dropping even faster from the poison. Aika simply looked at Irina with tears in his eyes. _

"_I wish we could have had that lunch. It's a shame, but I wish we could have spent more time together" he said before he smiled. His HP bar went empty. "I love you Irina…goodbye…." his voice rang as his avatar burst. Irina wailed in sorrow flinging herself around. She didn't believe what had happened. _

"_This is just a dream, this is just a dream, this is just a dream…." Her voice rang in her head as her crying wouldn't stop._

"_How unfortunate. He said he loved you too. Doesn't that remind you about us?" Tsurugi said turning towards Irina squeezing her cheeks with his index finger and thumb. "Too bad that was the same thing I said to you. But instead, you shot me down"_

_Irina shook and shook trying to free herself. Only her muffled screams for help were heard before they were suddenly stopped. One jab from his knife and she was asleep again. _

"_Hahahaha!" Tsurugi laughed hysterically. "Oh… love is such a funny thing. It's a shame I've already had my fun. It would have been nice to hear her screams."_

_Irina found herself awake in the middle of the forest with her HP in the red. "Aika…. Aika?!" she said opening her menu only to see his name grayed out. At that moment, she realized that he was gone. "Why?" she muttered sobbing. "Why…. Would he do such a thing….why would he go through such lengths to get revenge…." She pounded her fist into the ground in pure rage. "Why!?" she yelled out one more time. _

_She didn't know how she got back to town without dying from monsters, but she did somehow. She was disappointed that no monsters attacked her; she wanted to die to be with Aika. Irina sat there until she received a delayed massage. _

_Here's my address if you ever want to meet –Aika_

"Irina…." Sachi muttered.

"That's what happened" Irina said wiping the tears from her eyes.

Sachi felt really bad. It was starling for her to hear a story this sad. "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. I won't let something like this get in my way" Irina replied breathing deep. After breathing out, she jumped off the fence and started walking towards town.

Sachi simply stared at Irina. Even though she said she was okay, she wasn't. Sachi could tell she was still crying over his death. Sachi felt the same with her guildmates. No matter how much time passes, she will still cry over them.

Sachi was returning from her bath. Taking one wasn't necessary in the game, but she still felt as if baths did make her clean again. Sitting down on her bed, she sighed and glared out the window. The rays of moonlight were shining through the window of their room. The door opened and Irina walked in lying down on her bed.

"Are you feeling any better?" Sachi asked hugging her knees.

"Yea" Irina replied equipping her flute and started to play a rather mellow tune. It filled the room with such sentimentality. Sachi liked this mood; it gave her the feeling of happiness despite all this sadness. A gentle smile crept across her face as she fell to the side on her pillow. Opening her eyes again, she saw Irina glaring at the moon from her bed still playing her flute.

**Aincrad 44****th**** Floor, August 27, 2023**

"_Are you ready with the guitar Keshiga?" Someone asked._

"_Yea, I'm good" Keshiga replied tuning his guitar. "How about you Irina?"_

"_I'm fine here." Irina replied giving a thumbs-up. _

"_Enough chit chatter" The drummer said._

"_Calm down Tsurugi, it's just practice." Keshiga replied plucking the strings of his guitar to warm up. After warm up, Tsurugi banged his drum sticks together as the band played their song. _

"_That went well didn't it?" Irina asked. Keshiga agreed._

"_Hmm… there's still something that doesn't seem right" Tsurugi replied getting up and brushing his fingers through his brown hair. _

"_Saya isn't here, if that helps" Keshiga replied."So we have no singer"_

"_No it's something else…." Tsurugi stood there in thought for a moment. "Ah well, I guess its good enough. Practice is over guys, see you tomorrow!"_

"Keshiga? Keshiga?" Someone was shaking Keshiga. "Wake up, " He opened his eyes to see Sakai over him. "Ahh…. Huh?"

"It's noon…" she said giggling. "You're going to miss lunch, so Futaro asked me to wake you up."

"Ack, it was a good sleep too" he replied stretching as he got up. "I'm starving nonetheless!"

Futaro's Mercenaries retained its usual routine of going out and training. Their goal was to be a top guild like the KoB. The guild was exploring some hidden areas of the Labyrinth on the 44th floor. Once they finished their business there, they would then proceed onto the next floor since it was cleared already.

"Guess we can take a break here" Futaro suggested sliding his back down against the wall. "Boy these monsters are hard" he muttered leaning on his axe.

"Well, good thing I made some snacks" Sakai responded as a basket appeared in her hands.

"Oh boy! Sakai's meals are always good!" Moto responded eagerly.

"Sakai's always so reliable isn't she?" Keshiga asked Hana.

"She's been like that her entire life." Hana replied. Sakai and Hana were good friends in real life. "But her cooking is always top notch" she added munching on a sandwich. "But that's what makes her such a good friend"

Keshiga was enjoying the meal that Sakai had prepared for them until he heard footsteps heading their way. "Who could that be?" He wondered. "A player?" Pretty soon, the figure of a player had formed from the rather dim light of the room. He appeared to be sulking; he was sagging his shoulders and his hands were in his pocket. Keshiga simply stared at him. He wore a black cloak with extremely plain clothing. He simply walked past them without any interaction.

"Ummm…" Sakai said a little hesitant. "Would you like to join us? There's still plenty of food left…"

The boy was a little baffled by this sudden invitation. "Erm, sure, but I have no interest in joining a guild so…"

"Ah don't worry, we're not recruiting anyone at the moment" Futaro shook off biting his sandwich.

"Uuu, okay." The boy replied sitting down next to the guild. "Sorry to intrude"

"Oh it's no problem" Sakai replied handing the boy a sandwich and bottle of tea from the basket. "You seemed a little troubled. I have the tendency to offer a meal to someone who seems troubled." She was blushing a little bit pushing her index fingers together. "My name is Sakai by the way"

"I'm Futaro, leader of this guild"

"Yo! Moto"

"Hana, pleased to meet you"

"My names Keshiga!"

The boy was a little overwhelmed at the sudden introductions. "Kirito.." he said before taking a bite of his sandwich. It had different kinds of lettuce and meat in the middle. "Hey this is good!"

"Thank you!" Sakai responded very positively when someone complimented her cooking.

"Might I ask you what you guys are doing here?" Kirito asked.

"We're training!" Futaro replied with a rather rowdy tone. "Someday, we're going to rise up to the ranks of the KoB! Right guys?"

"Yea!" The rest of the guild cheered.

"Huh…" Kirito replied. It made him smile to see such an enthusiastic guild. He hadn't been with a crowd like this since the Black Cats.

"Say Kirito, you wouldn't happen to know this place well do you? Since you were traveling alone" Keshiga blurted out.

"Ah, yea. I often come through here." Kirito replied.

"Uhh, can you help us out then?" Futaro asked him. "We're having a hard time fighting against the monsters here, so trainings been a bit slow"

"Well…." Kirito paused for a moment. "I don't see why not. Let's see what you guys got."

Kirito led them to an area where they could fight monsters. There, he examined each members fighting techniques.

"You guys seem pretty capable on your own. The only problem is letting Keshiga just run in there by himself. When you get to higher floors, it'll be extremely difficult for him to manage on his own since the monsters there are much stronger." Kirito explained.

"Got it" Futaro replied with a thumbs-up. "I'll go in and support Keshiga from now on. "

"You sure do know a lot about the higher floors don't you?" Moto noted.

"Yea, are you a clearer?" Sakai asked.

"Erm…. No I'm not" Kirito said with a nervous tone.

"Then what are you?" Keshiga responded with curiosity.

"I'm….I'm a soloer" Kirito shut his mouth as soon as he let it slip.

"A… soloer?" Futaro muttered a little suspicious. Kirito was prepared for scorning and hate, but instead, he got a light scoff followed by some laughter.

"Hahaha! If you're a solo, then you should be much higher leveled than us right?" He asked patting Kirito's shoulder.

Kirito only nodded nervously.

"So, what level are you?" Moto asked.

Now Kirito was in a crunch. He was scared he might get called a beater, but at the same time, he felt as if it was okay to share his true level with these people. _"Don't make the same mistake twice Kirito"_ his voice rang in his head. "Le…level…sixty…one" he muttered.

"Sixty-one?" Futaro asked scratching his head. "Well, you hear that guys? That's our goal right now okay?" he hollered out pounding his fist into his palm. "Someday, we're going to be as strong as Kirito so we can rise to the level of the KoB! Right?"

"Yea! We definitely will!" Keshiga and the rest of Futaro's Mercenaries cheered.

Kirito chuckled at their enthusiasm. "You sure keep the mood fun don't you?" he whispered to Futaro.

"Ah, I think it's important to keep their confidence up. If they're confident in themselves, they'll go far with a little help from people like you" Futaro chuckled and patted Kirito on the back.

They were in front of the door that led to the next floor. "Well, I think this is where we'll go our separate ways." Hana said holding her hand up to signal an agreement. "I'll be looking forward to dueling you someday Kirito."

"You too Hana" Kirito grabbed her hand as their thumbs intertwined as sign of their dueling pact. After waving, Futaro patted his back.

"You're okay Kirito. I wish more people wouldn't scorn people like you and instead learn from your experience. See you in the future okay?"

"Got it" Kirito replied giving a thumbs up as the guild left for the next floor. He sighed bitter sweetly. Futaro's Mercenaries reminded him so much of the Black Cats of the Full Moon; it almost broke his heart thinking about it. "I wonder….what Sachi is doing up in heaven right now?" he asked looking at the black ceiling.

**Aincrad 41****st**** Floor**

"Achoo!" Sachi sneezed rather loudly.

"You okay?" Irina asked looking out the window of their room.

"I'm fine" Sachi replied sniffling her nose.

"Someone's thinking about you, you know" Irina commented with a little chuckle. There was a saying that someone was talking about you when you sneezed.

"Hmph, maybe" Sachi said looking back at the ceiling. "_When do I finally talk to him?"_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11 – Uncovering the Secret

**Aincrad 48th Floor, October 28, 2023**

"Hey Norie, is it true you're going to be participating in the boss battle this floor?" Ellen asked peering at Norie from behind her parfait cup.

"Yup" Norie said taking a look at the so called "newspaper". It wasn't a real newspaper, but it contained stories about what's special going on in Aincrad at the moment. The headline was:

Orange Guilds are rising in Numbers

_Recently, the number of orange guilds, guilds that conduct criminal acts like attacking other players and stealing, has recently been rising in number. With the increase in orange players within the past few floors, larger packs of these ruthless people have been reducing the potential number of clearers within the game. Thus, orange and red players are slowing down the progress of the game. As a notice, it is advised that players do not venture alone. Try to stay in the safe zones when not hunting, and keep rare equipment hidden._

"You should listen to what they say Norie" Ellen said eating a spoonful of cream and fruit.

"Don't worry about me" Norie said sipping her tea, "I'm completely capable on my own. It's Sachi I'm worried about" Norie got up. "Let's go, we've got a floor to finish"

Ellen hastily gargled down the rest of her parfait. "It's not healthy for me to eat too fast you know" she commented following Norie. In truth, Ellen was a pretty small girl, only about up to Norie's hip.

"You eat too fast anyway" Norie snickered.

"I do not!"

It took about 30 minutes to meet at the designated spot, but Norie was still a little early. Their meeting spot was a clearing in the forest a near the entrance to the labyrinth. There was a large tree stump in the middle of the clearing where some players had already gathered. Among those players was a girl dressed in a red and white knight like armor. A rapier was sheathed to her side as she kept a hand on it. She had two body guards standing to each side of her.

The searching party had just recently found the boss room a couple of days ago, so after days of preparation, the clearers decided that today be the day they will attempt to clear the boss. Norie waited a bit with some of the other clearers to gather. There were about 21 people that were going into the boss room today. Among those people were Kirito, Asuna and Norie.

Asuna gathered everyone's attention to the stump that she was standing on. She was in charge of assigning parties and tasks according to each member's strengths and weaknesses. She began explaining the attack patterns of the boss on this floor. Turns out, the boss this floor was a giant turtle like being. It could expand its' neck to sweep enemies in front, and the long tail can sweep enemies from the back. The only safe way to engage was from the sides, but it turns constantly, so it could be rather difficult. It has hard shelling in certain parts of the side, so to deal effective damage, one had to strike at its' legs or in the exposed areas of flesh. You could go through the back and attack there, same with the front. But those are considered the boss's danger zones. You could only send people with high defense and parrying skills, or extremely fast people. Since the head and neck was rather large, only heavily armored and strong parries could be there. Kirito, Asuna and a couple others took charge of this. Everyone else except Norie was placed on the sides. Norie placed herself in the back since every other position was filled. Her superb parrying skills proved to be useful when combating the tail. It strikes extremely fast and very consecutive, so someone with fast parrying times would be ideal.

"Are you okay with that Norie?" Asuna asked.

"Ah, I'm good with it" Norie said giving a thumbs-up. "I'll call if I need help."

"Good" Kirito said. "Everyone know their positions?" he asked. Everyone seemed ready.

"Then I shall call this meeting over. Everyone, don't die, and good luck!" Asuna said with much seriousness. They opened the doors. The room was like a large sewer like place. Puddles of muddy water were scattered everywhere and the center of the room had a large, but shallow body of water. All the way at the back of the room was a large turtle like monster. It towered about 3 times larger than the tallest member in the group. As the party moved closer to it, it moved closer to them towards the center of the room. Asuna gave the signal for everyone to spread out and get to their positions. Four people, including Kirito and Asuna, where in the front, eight people on both sides, and Norie in the back; all of them took their positions. The large turtle then approached the front party as the others surrounded it. Norie broke off to the left and headed to the back. Right when she got there, a large whip like tail smashed against her.

"Oof!" Norie was knocked back a bit.

At that moment, the turtle then extended its' neck moving its' had closer to the front group. It roared in their faces as it swung its head to the side and swung it back towards them. Kirito and the other two tanks blocked the head, and this gave Asuna the opportunity to give fast attacks. That was the plan after all. Eventually, the two tanks got used to the strikes and let Kirito give additional attacks.

The others were doing fine from Kirito's point of view, but he didn't know about Norie. He looked around frantically for a sign that she was fine. Then a voice called from above, it was Ellen giving a thumbs-up. He sighed, Norie was doing good also.

"Are you doing okay?" Ellen asked from above.

"I'm good" Norie said blocking the rapid strikes of the whip like tail. It was good practice for leveling up her parry skill, so Norie didn't mind. The whips attacks were also rather weak, so her battle healing would kick in and be rather effective.

Eventually the boss's HP fell to the red. It looked as if victory was in their grasp before a change in the attack pattern occurred.

It roared one more time and then dug its' feet into its' shell. Then, it span around swinging its' head at the entire party knocking back everyone except Kirito, Asuna, Norie and a couple of others. As it emerged, it was facing Norie and stepped forward towards her.

"Crap…" Norie gulped as she braced herself. The turtle swung its' head colliding with Norie's sword on her right. It was a huge impact that managed to push Norie to the left. Her HP took a rather heavy hit as the turtle swung around for another hit, this time, on Norie's left. Kirito and Asuna were having a hard time against the tail and the others that were still standing were trying their best to deal damage. The swipe against the party knocked about 14 members out cold. Each blow against Norie's sword pushed her left and right, left and right. Norie was panting, she could only hold out for one more block. She had to strike. As the turtle raised its' head upward for a pound downward, Norie raised her sword up to block. The turtle collided with her sword as it seemingly crushed her leaving a huge crater in the ground.. Everyone gasped in fear, but miraculously, the turtles head was pushed back. Norie was in the middle of that crater still standing as she rushed forward. "Ellen! Spirit Awakening!" Norie called out as her cutlass started glowing a brighter gold. She jumped upward and delivered a strong Horizontal on the turtles neck. There was a huge streak of gold light that radiated horizontally along the neck as it separated halfway from the body. It moaned one last time before the head burst into the countless fragments followed shortly by the body shattering.

"Huff….hufff….huffff" Norie was panting extremely hard still holding her cutlass. The glowing slowly dissipated as Norie fell back on her bottom.

"Norie!" Kirito and Asuna cried out splashing through the body of water running to catch up with her. The rest of the party that was still standing went to check up on the rest. No deaths were reported.

"Are you okay?" Ellen asked sitting on Norie's lap with concern.

"Yea…huff. I'm fine" Norie was catching her breath taking a look at her boss loot.

"Good to know that you're still in working order" Kirito commented

"Nice work" Asuna said with a congratulatory tone, "What did you get?"

"Erm, Aqua Amulet" Norie said taking it.

"Are you collecting the pieces?" Asuna asked, "It looks very nice if you get the entire set."

"I'm not collecting it, but I do know a certain someone who is" Norie grinned.

"Alright! Floor cleared!" Someone hollered out. His voice echoed endlessly through the hollow room.

"How many does that leave us left with? Fifty one?"

"Yea!"

Most of the party was already going to explore the next floor. "Hey! Don't explore by yourselves okay?" Asuna warned. "Stay in a group!"

"I think I should get going also" Norie said gulping down an HP potion. Her HP had hit the red.

"Keep up the good work oaky?" Asuna asked.

"Anything for the Sub-leader of the KoB" Norie said bowing and taking her cap off. "Well, here is where I take my leave. Adieu to you." Norie said waving her cap around as she started walking towards the door to the next floor. "I'll be seeing you two around the floor"

"See you around too Norie" Kirito replied waving back.

"Fifty-one floors left huh" Asuna asked getting a little closer to Kirito. Her chestnut brown hair blew with the light wind that was coming through the doorway.

"Yea, it only seems like yesterday that this hell started" Kirito commented. One more floor down, one more floor closer to the end.

**Aincrad 46rd Floor, November 12, 2023**

"Finally found you!" Sachi said stomping her foot on the floor out of complete determination.

"Eh… me?" A girl asked. Her face had whiskers on it.

"Yes you Argo!" Sachi said even louder. "I've been looking for you for weeks!" She pointed her index finger and brought it closer to Argos' nose.

"You don't have to be so aggressive you know" Irina commented sitting down opposite to Argo.

"Alright alright, you found me. Now what do you want? Information I assume?" Argo replied leaning back in her chair crossing her arms.

"Yes, I'm willing to pay" Sachi said taking a bag of money out.

"Okay, what do want to know about? I can't tell you the names of Beta tester by the way" She was waving her finger when she said that.

"Well, I want to know where the Ancient Ruins of Saraata are" Sachi was in her "business" tone, though what business was to Sachi was regular conversation to Irina.

"Ancient Ruins of Saraata?" Argo said with a rather sarcastic tone. "You guys haven't been on this floor for a long time have you? No matter, it's right here on this floor. Just go to the East of here and you'll stumble upon a large pillar with a blue gem on it." She shrugged will gesturing with her hand to give her the payment.

"Ah! Here!" Sachi said handing the bag of money with both of her hands bowing slightly. "Thank you!"

Irina got up with Sachi and followed her out.

"Anytime!" Argo waved back throwing the bag of money up and down.

**ooo**

Sachi was walking down the path that Argo had directed her to go.

"You think it'll be here?" Irina asked plucking the strings of her lute.

"I trust in Argo" Sachi said giving a light smile. If Norie trusted Argo, then there should be no reason that Sachi wouldn't trust her as well.

Eventually, they made it to a large pillar. Argo was right, there was a blue gemstone inscribed in it.

"Is this it?" Irina asked pointing.

"This is it" Sachi said taking her own blue gem stone out. It glowed brighter the closer it got to the one in the pillar. Amidst this, her gaze was set upon something else that gave a light tint of light on the ground. Curious, Sachi bent down to pick it up. It was a small little pin; yellow with a smiley face on it.

"They were here…. Ellen…. Norie…." Sachi said to herself.

"Who?" Irina asked tilting to the side.

"This pin belongs to a close friend of mine. I think she'll be wanting this back." Sachi said as the little pin disappeared into her inventory. "Let's go" she tapped the blue crystal on the pillar and both of them were engulfed in a blue light. Within a matter of seconds, Sachi's sight was now a narrow hallway. It led them to a room with two doors. Sachi went to open the first, but stopped before her hand touched the handle. Her gemstone shone with a bright light. When it died out, a loud clank was heard. Then the door opened. Sachi and Irina entered the room; there was only a teleportation crystal. Sachi tapped it once and they were engulfed in a blue light again. They were in a large room with 3 pillars on each side of the path towards the middle. At the other side of the room, there was stairs that led up to an altar. Upon the altar was a chest. The entire room was dark except for the glow of blue flames on torches that hung from the pillars. Irina glared in amazement at the entire room as she followed Sachi towards the stairs.

_"Finally, the right one" _A voice rang in the room, but surprisingly, there was no echo from the voice. Sachi could hear her own breathing echo as her pulse went faster. She drew her sword looking around to see the face of her opponent. Irina did the same with her short sword and left her free hand near her knives.

A figure appeared in front of them, it was a hooded figure that wore a cloak that was darker than Kiritos'. Sachi gripped her blade tighter as she pointed it lower ready to strike.

The figure said nothing and pointed towards the chest at the top. It then pointed at Sachi's sword and shook its head. Sachi had a feeling that there was no threat. She lowered her sword and nodded her head pulling her gem out. She pointed at it giving a questionable expression on her face. The figure nodded yes.

_"That gem is the key" _It said as it disappeared.

"An NPC…" Irina muttered sheathing her sword.

Sachi was silent for a bit before she started making her way up the stairs. Irina started to go up with her, but she held her hand up to say no. The chest was sleek and smooth. The blue light from the flames gave it a blue tint that bounced off the surface and radiated to the surrounding walls. The gem in Sachis' hand grew brighter with each step. Sachi opened the chest to find only the hilt of a sword. It looked sort of like a small dagger, but with a large hilt. There was a teal portion that was spiked past the protector to make it look like so. The blue gem in the center of the hilt that closely resembled Sachis' own gem emitted a sort of blue mist.

"MMhhhph!" Sachi heard Irina muffle a scream.

"Well well well!" Another voice said followed by a single pair of hands clapping. "I really thank you for finding the treasure for us"

Sachi turned around with a frown on her face to see. It was a slim lady that wielded a cross spear. There were about 5 other guys with her. One of them was holding Irina hostage cupping his hand over her mouth.

"What?!" She muttered. How did anyone know they were here she asked herself.

"All of this was made possible by this girl right here!" The woman said squeezing Irinas' cheeks together with her index finger and thumb. "Too bad she won't be getting a cut" The snapped her fingers and the man let go pushing Irina towards the woman's spear.

Irina yelped as the spear dug into her stomach. "I-I trusted you Rosalia!" she cried out. Her HP dropped quite a bit.

"It's just business" Rosalia said pulling the spear out letting Irina fall to the ground. As Irina tried to get up, she kicked her in the face and Irina rolled closer to the stairs. "Taking out the middleman will result in more profit."

Sachi was filled with anger as she stomped down the stairs holding her sword out. "Don't hurt her…" she muttered pointing her sword at the band of thieves.

"You fool. Why risk your life for such scum like her?" Rosalia scoffed. "No matter, if you won't give us the item, we'll just take it by force!" Then, the other 5 members, whom all had orange cursors, ran towards Sachi. She held her sword up and blocked as best she could. It was difficult to block with a sword in one hand and a seemingly useless hilt in the other. Waves of pain made it through her body as a sword slashed into her arm. An axe phased through her leg. The blade of a spear met the side of her sword, and spark flew all over the place. Sachi felt a shockwave pulse through her body eventually knocking her back. To her horror, her sword had broken in half. With her HP down in the orange, she couldn't believe it.

"Come now, you have nowhere to go" Rosalia said. "Just hand us that hilt and we'll let you live"

Sachi knew that was a lie. She's seen enough shows like this to know the bad guys never keeps their promise. Her breathing was heavy as she knelt on one knee trying to lean on her broken sword. She was surrounded, her weapon was broken, her HP was getting low and so was her comrade. What was she to do? She didn't know; there was no way she was going to give the hilt up either. Closing her eyes "I guess this is the end" she muttered.

_"Sachi…. " A voice said gently. Sachi opened her eyes to familiar faces. It was Keita. Her heart raced with fear as she closed her eyes. Expecting a spear to be thrust in her head again, she felt nothing except a hand patting her head. She opened her eyes slowly to see Keita smiling. _

_"Keita…" Sachi muttered. Just then, the rest of her deceased friends had appeared behind her, all of them with expressions of happiness and encouragement. "Guys…"_

_"Don't give up Sachi." Testuo said. _

_"We're counting on you."_

_"Keep living, that's what we would have wanted for you" Keita stopped patting her head. "If we had to choose between which one of us could live again if all of us died, it would be you. We all agreed on it, don't let our hopes go in vain." He said again gripping her hand with both of his hands._

_"I will" Sachi said as the tears started dripping from her chin._

_"Good bye Sachi, we'll always be with you. Never give up" Keita said as the rest of the guild waved back at her. They disappeared one by one. As Keita started to disappear, "Tell Kirito… I'm sorry for what I said to him"_

_"Goodbye…." Her heart ached, but she was happy. Her friends didn't scorn her, they didn't hate her. They only wished the best for her. She smiled sweetly and closed her eyes again._

It felt like an eternity, but in reality, only a couple of seconds had passed. At that moment, Sachi opened her eyes and saw blurred figures of the thieves running at her behind her tears. The hilt in her hand started glowing and a pale blue blade had materialized from it. It was a long blade that tapered down about the length of the tip of her toe to the bottom of her ribs. A hissing sound was heard as the blade came to existence. Sachi stared at the thieves with determination as she threw the remainder of her old sword to the side. She brandished her new weapon and pointed it at them.

"Bring it" Sachi curled her eyebrows and slanted her eyes.

"What are you waiting for!?" Rosalia yelled. "Get her!"

The thieves darted towards her. The first sword user slashed downward. Sachi blocked it with ease at an alarming speed. With the blink of an eye, Sachi pushed his sword away and slashed it leaving a streaking blue light behind. To everyone's' surprise, his sword broke.

"W-what the?!" He muttered confused about what just happened. The axe wielder jumped from behind her swinging his axe down. Sachi dodged his axe and as he was trying to swing it back up, Sachi sliced through it. It broke in his hands. The spear user charged towards her managing to scrape her arm, but it wasn't enough for him to stay planted on his feet. Instead, he kept going forward and Sachi took this chance to slash downward on his spear cutting it short. A shield user tried to shield bash her, but she stuck her sword out aiming for a stab. To his surprise, her sword cut right through and Sachi pulled upward damaging the shield even more. He tried to pound her on the side with his hammer, but Sachi narrowly dodged it and cut into his arm causing him to flinch. Taking this opening, she then proceeded to landing a blow on his hammer. The last one dashed towards her slashing upward. Sachi managed to block the strike, but his sword didn't shatter. He pulled upward going for a down slash, and Sachi timed her attack this time. She remembered Kirito told her something about a swords weak spot. If she hit that spot with the right time with the right amount of force, the weapon will shatter. By judging the appearance of his sword, she figured the weakest point will be around the area above the hilt. Aiming her sword upward for a stab, she pushed forward. The tip of her sword made contact as the thieves sword collided with hers. A loud screeching sound was followed by some sparks. Then, the sound of shattering glass was heard as his sword broke.

He was speechless as Sachi pushed forward ramming him with her shoulder. He was knocked back and when he came to his senses, he scrambled backward in fear.

"It's the sword!" One of them said trying to look for a spare weapon in his inventory.

"Rosalia, all our weapons are broken, we can't fight!"

"Cowards!" Rosalia said pointing her spear towards Sachi. "Learn to fight with your fists more!" She then darted towards Sachi with the tip of her spear rushing forward. "Gotcha!" she muttered as she felt her spear hit something. Her eyes widened as she saw her spear blocked. Sachi was holding her sword with the wide side of the blade blocking the spear. The more she struggled, the more the tip of her spear started to vaporize. There was smoke coming from the area where her spear and Sachi's sword came into contact. Eventually, her spear broke and burst into pieces.

"Im-impossible!" Rosalia said stricken with grief.

"Let's get out of here!" One of them said as all of them hastily grabbed their crystals out and teleported.

"Hey! Get back here! You cowards! You call yourselves members of the Titans Hand?!" Rosalia screamed out in anger. Giving one hateful look at Sachi and Irina, "You haven't seen the last of me!" she said before a blue light engulfed her. The room was silent. Sachi only looked at her glowing sword.

"Sachi…"

"You…" Sachi replied pointing her sword close to Irina's face. "You lied to me…."

"I'm sorry…" Irina said with tears beading down her cheek. "I understand if you won't forgive me. Kill me if you want; I'll finally be with Aika"

Sachi was silent for a moment just standing there with her glowing sword planted close to Irina's face. She sighed, and her blade disappeared back into the hilt. "Then I won't" she said smiling. "As punishment, you'll keep living."

"Why…" Irina asked not understanding what Sachi had done.

"Everyone deserves a second chance" Sachi said lending her hand out. "I learned that the hard way"

After a moment of silence, Irina managed to smile. She took Sachi's hand and said, "That's a cruel punishment you know.

**ooo**

"Care to explain?" Sachi asked resting her head on her hands while staring at Irina. The chatter of players coming in for dinner had filled the dining hall.

"It all began that night when Aika died" Irina started. "I was lost, almost dead, heartbroken, and had no other people to turn to. Then Rosalia took me in. I didn't realize she was going to backstab me so she doesn't have to share the profit." She was staring at her reflection in her tea. "I betrayed you and Rosalia was going to kill me anyway. I'm sorry"

Sachi smiled and leaned forward. With her thumb and middle finger, she flicked Irina's forehead.

"Ow!" Irina said rubbing it with her hand.

"That's how my mom disciplined me for doing something wrong. But she always forgave me after." Sachi said sighing as she rested her hands on her head again. "It's okay. I forgive you."

**ooo**

"Lightsaber Mastery huh…." Sachi said flipping through her skills. "Weapon break…armor pierce?" These new skills were in Sachi's skill window and she didn't know how they got there. The hilt was resting in her hand as she was lying down on her bed.

"I've never seen anything like it" Irina commented.

"Me neither. Maybe I should get this appraised somewhere." Sachi responded by turning her sword on. The pale blue blade materialized from the hilt all the way to the tip. It seems the length would always be the same. A low humming was heard and a slight whoosh was emitted when she moved it slightly. It was kind of like the one in Star Wars. She remembered she used to watch it with her father when she was younger. Other than those, there weren't many memories with her and her father. He left when she was young, so she's never really had a father figure.

"How did their weapons break so easily?" Irina asked.

Sachi wondered for a moment. Looking back, it seemed that their weapons were of average quality. The lower the quality, the less durability it had. "I think it's this sword special ability or something" Taking a look at the swords specs, she read some additional information.

_Weapon Name – Fragarach_

_Weapon Grad - Unique_

_Enhanced Weapon break – This weapon deals additional damage to weapon durability if the weapon grade is lower than this. _

_Armor Pierce – This weapon ignores the defense of opponents and damage inflicted is called true damage._

"Wait…" Irina asked taking a look at the details. "Armor pierce, don't you think this is too game breaking?"

"It does seem very over powered" Sachi noted, "Maybe I should go to an appraiser and ask them"

"I know an appraiser; we'll talk to him tomorrow." Irina said slomping on her bed again. "But I wonder, why would they put such a game breaking feature in this game?"

"Maybe there's a catch" Sachi replied still examining her new weapon. "There's always a catch to things like this." It was the same case as the Divine Stone of Returning Soul. It defied the games feature of killing the player if their HP went to 0; however, the catch was that it had to be used within 10 seconds of the player's avatar shattering. Considering that this weapon has the ability to single handedly enable Sachi to solo the game, there had to be a huge catch, she knew there was.

The pale blue glow of the blade was the only thing lighting their room other than the light of the moon. Curious, Sachi slowly moved her hand to touch the blade. She was expecting it to slice her fingers off like in the movies, but it didn't. It felt like a solid mass. She ran her fingers on the blade; it was warm to touch as it sent goosebumps up her arm.

**Aincrad 40th Floor, November 13, 2023**

"The guys name is Agil" Irina said pointing a finger up towards the sky. They were walking through the wet streets of town. Rainy season of Aincrad was upon them. "He's a good equipment appraiser, so he would be more than glad to help us out"

"So you've used his services before?" Sachi asked breaking her gaze from her sword hilt.

"Yea, he's very reliable. But he also runs a shop."

"What kind of shop?"

"Well, he's basically a merchant, he buys cheap and sells cheap. That's his motto" Irina said giving a wink.

**ooo**

"How are you holding up Kirito?" A rather deep and manly voice asked from behind the counter.

"Fine I guess" Kirito replied leaning on the counter waiting for the payment of his items. Looking around the store, he saw various items. From relatively rare weapons, to simple cooking ingredients and camping supplies. You could call it a general store, or you could call it a pawn shop; either way.

"Here you go!" A large African American man popped up from behind the counter with a bag of Col. "Twenty-thousand Col for all of it"

"Sounds a little low don't you think?" Kirito said grinning as he took the bag of money.

"Hey, that's the highest I'll go. That's including the friends benefit too" Agil said punching fists with Kirito.

"Haha, alright alright. I'll be seeing you then Agil" Kirito said waving before he walked out of the shop and turned to his left.

"Anytime Kirito. See ya!" Agil waved goodbye before he continued wiping down the counter with a rag.

**ooo**

Sachi and Irina turned the corner of the street on their right and walked down.

"There!" Irina pointed to a small shop on their left. Approaching the shop from the right when you're inside, Irina opened the door. A little bell rang to signify a customer.

"Agil!" Irina said waving her arms upward to say hello.

"Well well, it's Irina!" Agil said as Irina made her way to the counter. Sachi followed her, but something shocked her. Agil was extremely large and tall; it amazed her that someone was this fit, even after about a year of inactivity. Then she looked at Irina's short figure and gave a half hearted chuckle. Irina was very short for her age of 17, so comparing her to Agil was like comparing a tool shed to a mansion.

"So what can I do for you today Irina?" Agil asked slouching a bit on the counter.

"This is my friend Sachi" Irina introduced the two.

Sachi was actually rather intimidated by his appearance. His large muscular body, huge figure, bald head and beard all intimidated her.

"N-n-n-nice to-to- m-m-meet you" She stumbled on her shaking tongue.

"Nice to meet you too Sachi" Agil said in a friendly tone. This calmed Sachi down a bit.

"Would you guys like to come in for some tea?" He offered gesturing for them to come in.

"Ah sure!" Irina said following him. "C'mon Sachi"

"_Tea…_" The thought of soothing tea calmed Sachi's nerves even more. "O-okay"

After sitting down in his small living room, Agil brought out a tea kettle and three cups. "So what was it you wanted?" he asked Irina gently pouring the hot beverage.

"Well, my friend Sachi here stumbled upon a unique weapon and I was wondering if you could appraise it" Irina said pointing her thumb.

"Unique weapon?" Agil asked tilting his head, "We'll let me have a look see then"

Sachi nodded and pulled the sword hilt out. Then squeezing the hilt a bit, the pale blue blade formed.

Agil stared in amazement as he took the extraordinary sword in his hands. "Well I…" he struggled to get the words out, "I…I've never seen anything like this before in my life" Agil viewed different angles of the sword tapping the gemstone in the middle a few times. "It seems the blade is stored in this stone" he said glaring at his reflection. After a bit more examining, he waved his right hand in front of the sword and a menu popped up. He pressed the appraise button and a waiting menu popped up. The little dots circled for a couple of moments, and then another menu popped up.

"Lightsaber?" Agil asked scratching his head. "This certainly is a unique weapon."

"But there's something strange about it. The sword seems over powered with Armor Pierce" Sachi pointed out. "But I don't see the downside to any of it"

"Armor pierce…" Agil said rubbing his chin. "You're right, it does seem blatantly overpowered. No weapon I've seen has an additional ability like this." Agil sighed as he kept looking through the details. "Indestructibility also. This sword doesn't have durability, so it can't be broken. What else… wait…" he muttered going out of the room. He soon came back with another sword in hand. "Let me compare…." He looked at both the windows deep in thought. "Ah! I see the catch" Agil said closing the window of the other sword.

"Well? What is it?" Sachi asked extremely anxious to know.

"The armor pierce does seem extremely over powered," Agil started to explain. "But there's a noticeable downside to it. This sword has extremely low damage. Not much higher than a steel sword. I compared it to another sword of the same level, and your swords damage rated about fifty percent lower than this one. This sword I compared this to isn't even rare either, it's from an NPC. "Agil explained as he returned The Fragarach to Sachi.

"Extremely weak huh…" Sachi said still examining her sword. "Is there any way to bring the damage up to par?"

"Well, you could always dump all you stat points to STR, and the sword is relatively light, so you won't require as much DEX to be fast. You could also upgrade the weapon from a blacksmith. Upgrading it increases the base stats of the sword as well as STR scaling. Judging from the base scaling of your sword, I say that upgrading is the best way to gain some additional damage. But looking at it now, I don't think it'll ever be up to par with other swords" Agil said sipping some tea.

"Who would have known that it would be so weak" Irina said scratching her head.

Sachi lowered her head to stare intently at her sword. She was a little disappointed, but not losing hope.

"That doesn't mean you should use a different sword though" Agil reassured, "This certainly is a useful ability you've got there, and I'm sure that on the higher floors where monsters have higher defense, having guaranteed damage will be coveted." Agil motioned placing a large hand on Sachi's rather small shoulder.

"What about the Weapon Break?" Irina asked.

"Hmm…" Agil thought about it for a bit.

"The weapon grade of your sword is Unique right?" Agil asked. Sachi nodded in reply.

"Weapons with unique names like your Fragarach have a weapon grade of Unique. That means that the quality of these weapons are unrivaled to any other weapon. When this sword states that it deals additional weapon damage to a weapon with a grade lower than this, it enables you to easily break non unique weapons even without hitting the weak point." Agil explained further.

"I see" Sachi said tapping her chin, "So I'll still have to dump my stat points into STR"

"Well you don't have to" Agil quoted, "It'll help, but I recommend you upgrade it at a skilled blacksmith instead. It's more worthwhile in my opinion. I think you're more of a fast fighter rather than a strong hitter. Don't neglect DEX, try to keep a balance between the two"

"I'll try" She responded positively accepting Agil's advice with a smile. She was actually a very fast sword fighter. This was because she often found herself combating multiple monsters by herself, so she adopted the saying "The faster you are, the faster you kill" It hasn't failed her thus far.

"Besides, I'm sure that Aqua set would give you plenty of STR wouldn't it?" Agil joked.

Sachi turned a little red at his flirty comment. Agil simply chuckled with Irina at Sachi's embarrassment.

**ooo**

"He seems like a nice guy doesn't he Sachi?" Irina asked Sachi as they were walking through town with the water pouring down their umbrellas.

Sachi chuckled, "He does seem very nice despite his figure"

"Ahh don't let his appearance scare you. He really is nice you know. He owns a café in real life"

"He does?" Sachi asked with a keen interest, "I'd like to see it one day." She muttered glaring up at the dark rainy sky. It felt as if someone dear to her was in the vicinity.

Kirito was glaring off in the distance as he looked back at town. There was this nagging feeling tugging at his mind to go back to town. He shook it off and started forward off into the wilderness.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 - Thanksgiving

Authors Notes – This chapter might be more suited as a side story, but nonetheless, I've included it with the main story.

**Aincrad 42****nd**** Floor, November 23, 2023**

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Futaro cheered as he stood up holding his cup forward. All the members of Futaro's Mercenaries gave a toast along with Futaro.

"Well, thank you guys for making this guild such a success. Let this meal fuel our desire to become as strong as the KoB!" Futaro commanded in a powerful voice clenching his fist and raising it. "Dig up!"

"Thank you for the meal!" It truly was a rather grand feast. A huge turkey was in the middle of the long table where the members sat. There were numerous other plates, a bowl with something that resembled mashed potatoes, meat and cheese casserole, assorted salads, cooked fish, steaming rice porridge, assorted fruit flavored pies, a gravy like side dish, and much more. Everyone ate with delight and praised the creators of this delightful meal.

Why were Japanese people celebrating an American holiday anyway?

**November 19, 2023**

"Oooo…" Sakai sighed about something that no one took notice of. They were walking back to town after a little skirmish.

"Is there something wrong?" Hana asked wrapping an arm around Sakai's neck.

"Today's the 19th, you know what that means" Sakai responded cleaning her glasses.

"Thanksgiving" Hana replied lowly as she stooped her head down a bit. This was the first year that Hana and Sakai wouldn't be with their families for this time of year.

"I have an idea!" Sakai responded brightly pointing a finger up.

"Idea about what?" Moto asked giving a hefty yawn.

"We should celebrate Thanksgiving this Thursday!"

"Thanks…giving?" Futaro asked scratching his head as he stopped walking. "Isn't that an American holiday?"

"Yea, we're all Japanese aren't we?" Keshiga asked a little abruptly. "We don't celebrate it"

"Sakai and I used to live in America" Hana commented. "But both of our families moved back to Japan while in America for years, but we still celebrate it."

"Sure, doesn't sound like a bad idea, but what do we do on Thanksgiving?" Futaro asked.

"I heard from class that they just eat a bunch of food!" Keshiga exclaimed spreading his arms out.

"Eat?" Moto asked with his eyes wide open. "Now I really want to celebrate this Thanksgiving!"

In truth, everyone loved Sakai's cooking, especially Moto. The time of day he looked forward to most was when Sakai cooked dinner for everyone.

"There's more to it than just eating!" Sakai giggled. "There are certain types of dishes that are traditional during this holiday. But don't worry too much about it right now. We'll start preparing on Thursday. I'll make my special sandwiches too"

"Yahooo!" Moto squealed with delight as he jumped up with glee. He was like a little boy getting a highly coveted toy that all the other boys had.

"Alright! Sakai's sandwiches are the best!" Keshiga gave a big glomp on Sakai.

"Hey hey now! We need to get to town first!"

**ooo**

"I guess I should start stocking up on ingredients now. You guys go on ahead; I'll be stopping by the market for a little bit."

"Okay, hurry back" Futaro replied waving.

"I'll come with you!" Keshiga said raising his hand eager to help. Signaling for him to follow, both of them went to the market while the rest of the guild went back to the guild house. Spices, herbs, vegetables, fruit, meat, pastries, and other goods, all of these were part of the meals Sakai had in mind for the feast. Amidst their shopping, Sakai paused for a moment.

"Anything wrong Sakai?" Keshiga asked looking back at her to see what was wrong.

"I think we have a problem." Sakai said flipping through her menu. She was looking at the necessary ingredients required to make certain dishes. "Oh this is bad. Bad bad bad. The main dish consists of a turkey of some sort, but the item is an A rank item. "

"Is it that bad?" Keshiga asked. He was rather shallow of the seriousness of the subject.

"Of course it is! I can't make the main dish without it." Sakai was getting frustrated now weaving her fingers through her hair out of stress. Her performance goes down when she's pressured.

"Are there any substitutes?"

Sakai simply shook her head,"It won't have the same taste. Oooohhh this is bad…" she started breaking down. "Now everyone won't be able to have a good dinner because of me"

Keshiga felt a little uneasy. "Alright then. Where do we get this ingredient?" he asked giving a big grin.

"You're not serious about trying to get it are you?" Sakai asked trying to knock some sense into Keshiga.

"Of course I am! I want to taste that dish, and nothing's going to stop me!"

Sakai managed to smile and calm down a bit at Keshiga's optimism. "The item drops from a rare bird that appears on this floor to the fields in the south. It's called a Turningway Turkey, and I hear it's deceptively fast"

"Fast? Maybe we should call Hana" Keshiga said opening his menu to send a message to Hana. "Meet us at the South gate, we need your speed" The message said. "Okay, let's go there first so we don't keep Hana waiting"

**ooo**

"Jeez" Hana yawned, she pulled her arms upward and stretched. "What do you guys want? I was taking a good nap there" she muttered lazily as she caught up with the two

Sakai explained their current situation to Hana.

"Well why didn't you tell me sooner?" she responded, "If it was for Thanksgiving, I would have done anything" They were walking down the path leading south of town. Eventually, they took a sharp turn into the forest.

"They say it spawns in a clearing near the lake" Sakai said checking her map. They were getting close to their target area.

"I'm pretty sure some players are hunting for this thing also" Hana noted spotting about 5 other players within the area. As they made it to the field, there were three other players sitting around. "Hey, you guys here for the Turkey also?" Hana asked placing a hand on her hip.

"Yea" one of them responded. It turns out that they were a party too. "Fair game? Whoever gets the kill keeps the drop" he asked

"Ah" Hana nodded in agreement. "Doesn't mean we'll be giving it up too easily"

"We won't hold back either" One member of the party said dipping her finger in the small lake. The ripples from her finger distorted the reflection of the moon for a bit.

"Wait, aren't there 5 other people in this area?" Keshiga asked taking his gaze off the reflection of the moon.

The last person of the other party pointed at a nearby tree. Two hooded figures were sitting under it seemingly asleep. "Those two have been here before we got here. They were sleeping, so we didn't want to wake them up." He said

Keshiga squinted to get a better look at the two. He didn't see much, but he couldn't shake the feeling that those two are suspicious in some way. He ignored it for now as he sat down next to the water. Sakai sat down next to him and Hana reclined next to her closing her eyes with her hands cupped behind her head.

"Say Sakai…" Keshiga started to say dragging his finger through the sand, "How long have you two known each other?"

"Let me think" Sakai said tapping her chin. She wasn't wearing any armor right now; she was wearing her skirt and the shirt she usually wears under her armor. "Thirteen years I think? It has been a long time though. I remember, both of our fathers were friends since childhood, so they owned a company together. The company building used to be in Tokyo, but we had to relocate because the it was expanding. So our dads had to oversee the expansion in America. Then we moved to California. We were both three years old at the time, so I don't remember too much up until Kindergarten. When I went to school, all the kids talked about this holiday called Thanksgiving and I was curious to know what it was. When I asked, all the kids laughed at me. But the teacher explained it to me and Hana. I still remember his name, Mr. Lobston. Do you remember Hana?"

"Yea" Hana said amidst her light snoozing. "He was a nice teacher" she muttered before turning to her side.

"He would always smile and be patient when the kids were giving him a hard time. But he was very gentle. From then, we asked our parents if we could celebrate Thanksgiving and they didn't object. We celebrated it every year since then" Sakai was staring at the moon as she wrapped her arms around her knees. "How nostalgic. I love this feeling. Just remembering those good times with family and friends makes me smile. I want to keep this Thanksgiving in my memory for forever too, celebrating with all you guys. Do your best okay Keshiga?" Sakai said giving a gentle smile.

Keshiga grinned back. "I will!" his toothy smile was filled with enthusiasm.

Sakai simply giggled before she heard a strange sound. "Gobble gobble!" was the sound. She looked up at the sky to see the fat figure of a flapping bird hovering down a couple of meters away from them. It landed with a loud thud oblivious to its surroundings.

"There it is!" The leader of the other party exclaimed pointing at the bird and drawing his sword. Creeping up slowly towards it, it took no notice of him as it pecked the ground roaming around. An occasional gobble gobble was heard as the trademark onomatopoeia for a turkey. When he took another step closer, he accidentally stepped on a twig and the turkey turned its head around to see him. It started walking away faster

"It's getting away!" He said running towards it slashing his sword around. The Turningway Turkey flapped its wings dodging his slashes. After fluttering around avoiding his blade, it turned around and jumped on his head. It used his head to give it a boost to escape. The girl then took this opportunity to dive at it with her sword. She charged towards it with her sword over her head ready to give a down slash while the Turkey was dropping from its fall. But it fell faster than expected, and she accelerated to catch up. She felt her foot slip on a root as she lost her balance and fell forward into the mud.

"Ewww…" she muttered before the Turkey pushed her face back into the mud. Pushing upward, the turkey took flight again getting closer to the water. The last boy propped his spear and aimed it like a javelin. Keeping a stead aim, he pulled his arm gently back and pushed forward with all his might throwing his spear at the Turkey. It barely touched it only splitting about a couple of feathers as it ran away towards the forest again. Sakai gave chase as Keshiga jumped on her shoulders to accelerate his Leap. Hana, in the blink of an eye, got up from her sleeping position and dashed in front of the Turkey trying to corner it. Little did she know that the Turkey ran even faster and already made it past her from underneath her legs. Before she realized it, Keshiga came crashing on top of her.  
"What are you doing?!" Hana muttered pushing Keshiga off her.

"Trying to get the Turkey, duh!" Keshiga replied dusting himself off. The first boy gave chase again as the girl followed closely next to him. As the Turkey tried to turn, the last boy got in its way. It turned in a different direction, but Sakai was already there. Trying to turn and turn, everyone that was there surrounded it. There was a space for one more exit and it ran as fast as it could towards that. It seemed as if they would lose it again before it was suddenly interrupted by one of the cloaked people from earlier. The figure pulled out a type of sword that none of them had seen in their lives. It emitted a pale blue light and it gave a low hissing sound. The person used Horizontal on the Turkey. It dodged by jumping upward flapping its wings flying over the figure. The person turned around pulling the sword downward barely scathing the back of the Turkey. As it felt some of it's' feather shed away and a stinging sensation run up its back, it took flight even higher. Escape was just in its grasp before a knife went flying through the air piercing it smack in the middle. It gave one last gobble before it burst into data. Everyone looked behind to see the second hooded figure making a fist out of accomplishment.

"Yes! We got it Sachi!" The figure said as they opened the menu and dragged the item called Turnabout Turkey meat into their inventory.

"Good job Irina!" The hooded figure with the glowing sword said waving.

"Sachi?!" Keshiga exclaimed loudly as his eyes widened looking at the figure with the sword. "Irina?!" He then looked at the figure who threw the knife.

"K-Keshiga?!" The hooded figure with the sword lowered her hood. She did not notice her good friend amidst the action.

"S-Sachi!" Keshiga was overjoyed as he ran as fast as he could to give Sachi a great big hug. "Sachi! I missed you so much! How have you been? I'm surprised you're still alive from soloing!"

Sachi was a little speechless for a moment. Keshiga was the last person she expected to see here. "I've been great!" she managed to say with a smile as Keshiga backed up.

"Sachi?" Irina asked joining the two.

"Irina!" Keshiga responded running at Irina giving her a hug also. "I didn't know you were in SAO!"

"Err, I wasn't expecting you to join either. So the feelings kind of mutual"

"So how did you two meet?" Keshiga asked pointing at both of them.

"Sachi kind of rescued me a couple of times" Irina replied. "Which reminds me, how did you two meet?" she asked pointing at them putting some emphasis on "you".

"He joined my party a little while back" Sachi said as her lightsaber disappeared. "But, how do you two know each other?" she asked repeating what Irina said by emphasizing "you".

"I didn't tell you?" Irina said pointing at herself with her thumb. "Keshiga is a classmate of mine. We're in the same band. I'm sure you've been practicing in this game too haven't you?" she sneered patting his shoulder.

"Don't worry, don't worry. I got it covered" Keshiga responded as Hana tapped him on the shoulder. "Oh that's right, um, what are you guys planning on doing with the Turkey?"

"We were going hire someone to cook it for us. It's been a while since we've had a non-NPC meal, and Sachi's only recently started cooking. So her meals are kind of ehhhh" Irina explained.

"I heard that!"

"Oh, then would you guys like to join us?" Keshiga asked. "Sakai here is a good cook, and we were going to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we needed the Turkey meat for a dish."

"Oh! I've always wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving" Sachi said clapping her hands once.

"Me too. Sounds like a deal Keshiga" Irina said opening her inventory and taking out a large turkey like meat. It materialized in her hands and she handed it to Keshiga. A ping was made to signify that the trade was complete.

"Arg…" The leader of the other party said scratching his head. "Well, congratulations you guys. We were going to celebrate Thanksgiving too, but I guess we'll have to do without the Turkey" he was a little disappointed as he signaled for the rest of his party to go.

"Wait" Sakai running towards them. "Would you like to join us? There'll be plenty of food. So the more the merrier!" she folded her hands and gave a nice smile.

"Ah… sure. Thank you so much" The leader replied giving a wry chuckle.

"We'll have the party at our guild house in town. I'll send you the address, so feel free to drop by any time!"

"Looking forward to it" The spear user responded as their leader signaled to go. They waved back, "Thank you for the invitation!" the girl said. They soon were covered by the density of the trees and brushes.

"I think we should head back. Futaro will be wondering where we are." Hana responded pulling her hands behind her head.

"Care to introduce us?" Sakai said as the party made their way on the path back to town.

"Ah that's right. Sakai, Hana, this is Sachi. She's a friend of mine that I partied with before. And this is Irina, she's a classmate of mine and we play in the same band." Keshiga introduced his guild members with his older friends.

"Pleased to meet you" Sachi nodded her head.

"The pleasure is mine" Irina said.

"Haha, look at you Sachi!" Keshiga commented. "You look so different" Sachi did indeed look very different from the last time he saw her. On top of her coat, skirt, and bow; she had collected three additional pieces to her armor set; the belt, glove, and shoes. Her shoes consisted of one dark teal boot on her left leg that was about as high as her ankle while the one of the same color on her right extended up to below her knee. Also on her left leg was a dark teal stocking that went up to about halfway through her thigh. Her glove was shorter on her sword hand, which was her right. In almost the same style as her boots, the white short glove was accompanied by a dark teal glove underneath that extended up to her elbow. On her left hand, her white glove extended to below her elbow. A simple white belt with a strange sword hilt was strapped around her waist. It kind of dropped to the side a bit giving a diagonal shape.

"I can say the same about you" Sachi responded tapping his armor. It's true; Keshiga's appearance was completely different from before. When he partied with Sachi, his appearance was simple. Simple plate armor, simple clothing. Looking at himself now, he had realized that he changed quite a bit in mind and in body.

"Say, how are things going with you Irina?" Keshiga asked. He didn't forget to leave one of his closest friends out of the conversation.

"Well.. aside from meeting Sachi, not much…" Irina said stooping her head. She seemed a bit depressed, as if something was sucking all the happiness out of her.

"Hey, something wrong?" Keshiga asked.

"It's nothing"

**ooo**

"We're back!" Sakai said waving her arms up as she opened the door to the guild house.

"Oy welcome back" Moto responded reading the news bulletin.

"What took so long?" Futaro asked as he polished his axe.

"We kind of met Keshiga's friends on the way back" Hana responded slomping on the couch. She relaxed a bit by crossing her legs.

"You brought some friends over?" Futaro asked Keshiga. He nodded as introduced Sachi and Irina. Sachi was peering through the door a bit timidly. For some reason, there was something about Futaro that intimidated her. This didn't happen with monsters, mainly because she could just cut them down.

"Welcome welcome!" Futaro said showing hospitality and friendliness by patting both of them on the back. "You guys are welcome anytime"

"Thanks" Irina responded taking a seat as Futaro gestured. When Futaro showed this lively nature of his, Sachi loosened up a bit. Everyone in the guild was friendly, and they trusted each other very much so.

"_Keita…."_ Sachi muttered giving off a gentle smile.

"So Sachi…" Moto asked.

"Y-yes?" she asked sitting up straight breaking away from her thoughts.

"Keshiga here tells me you're a soloer. How did you manage?" He asked with a curious intent. Just then, Sakai brought out some tea for everyone. Sachi took a sip and began to explain some tips on what she learned from soloing. The night passed on, and Sachi felt a sense of companionship that she hadn't felt since 5 months before. It was a good feeling, and Sachi wanted to keep it close to her heart forever.

**ooo**

"Do you guys have a place to stay tonight?"Sakai asked. It was getting late.

Sachi was silent for a moment before looking at Irina. Irina looked back at her. "Oops. I forgot to book us a room at the inn."

"Oh, and it's probably booked out for tonight since Thanksgiving's near. " Irina said.

"That's no problem, you can stay with us." Sakai offered.

"Erm, Sakai, I don't think we have enough rooms" Keshiga noted.

"That's okay! Sachi can stay in your room and Irina can stay in mine. I'll go to Hana's room" Sakai responding giving a teasing wink at Keshiga and Sachi.

"Ehhh?!" Sachi responded getting red and hiding her face.

"Wh-what?! You can't be serious can you Sakai?" Keshiga said backing up a bit.

"I'm totally serious" she said singsongingly walking towards her room. "Come Irina, I'll get the sheets out for you"

"Good night you two" she said winking sticking her tongue out.

"W-wait! Futaro, you're not fine with this are you?!" Keshiga whined.

"Why wouldn't I be fine with this?" Futaro said chuckling as he started to go to his room. "Just don't do anything too rash okay? I wouldn't want to make a girl like her cry" he grinned and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Go get 'em tiger!" Moto said patting Keshiga on the back before retiring to his own room.

"Guys!?" Keshiga sighed. "Well Sachi, I guess I should show you my room"

"O-okay" Sachi stammered still a little red. Opening the door and peering inside, Keshiga's room turned out to be very plain. He had a simple bed. A desk was pressed up against the window wall.

"Umm, the bed is big enough for the both of us…" Keshiga muttered under his shame.

"Ah…yea" This indeed was a very awkward moment. Keshiga's last comment was especially awkward. Sachi wasn't planning on turning Ethics Code off, and she didn't think Keshiga would either.

"Erm.. you can change in here, I'll go out" he said before he closed the door gently. "Ack! What am I doing?!" he said scratching his hair as he took off his armor. He was already wearing his sleeping clothes under. Just then, the door opened and Irina was walking to Sakai's room carrying a blanket and a pillow.

"Save me!" Keshiga whined latching himself onto Irina.

"Get off!" Irina said dragging Keshiga's begging body along with her. Eventually, Keshiga let go and was lying on the ground face down. "You two are cute together" she replied grinning before shutting the door on him.

"Um.. Keshiga?" Sachi asked opening the door a bit. "I'm done." Sachi was wearing her usual night gown.

It's a very awkward feeling indeed when you get in bed with a person you like. This was the exact same feeling that Keshiga and Sachi were feeling when they were lying down on Keshiga's bed. Of course, both of them were sleeping on their side with their backs facing each other.

"Keshiga?" Sachi asked.

"Yea?" Keshiga responded opening his eyes

"Can you sleep?" Sachi asked turning to look at him

"Nope." Keshiga replied turning on his back.

"Me neither" Sachi dropped back on her pillow staring at the ceiling.

"Do you know how Norie's doing?" Keshiga asked turning his head to look at her.

"No. But I'm sure she's doing fine" Sachi said turning her head to look at him.

Both of them were silent for a moment. "Say, Sachi, that sword you have... can you show me it?"

"Oh?" Sachi said before taking the hilt of her sword out from her inventory. She tightened her grip around the handle and the blade came out with a low hissing sound.

"Cool…" Keshiga said keeping his gaze on the pale blue light mass. "Where did you get it?"

"Do you remember that gem I got from the spider quest?" Sachi asked gently touching the blade with her fingers. Keshiga nodded, and Sachi explained the whole story about the Ancient Ruins. She left the story about Irina betraying her secret though.

"Unique weapon huh… You know, a lot of players are going to be jealous of you" Keshiga responded flopping on his pillow with his hands behind his head.

"I'm prepared for that" The blade of Sachi's sword disappeared and she laid back down on her pillow. "I'm sure no one here would be jealous though, you guys don't seem like that group of people"

"They would be honored to fight alongside you more like it" Keshiga joked. After some silence, "Sachi, about back then before we split up…" He began to say remembering that Sachi kissed him on the cheek, but he was cut off by Sachi's light snoring. He smiled and shook his head. He then turned to his side away from Sachi and touched his cheek. He smiled one more time before closing his eyes.

**November 23, 2023**

"Do you need me to do anything else?" Keshiga asked walking into the kitchen.

"Yes please, take these dishes out to the table" Sakai replied putting two large dishes on the counter for him to take out.

"Take this out also when you finish" Hana replied putting a bowl of brown liquid next to the two dishes.

"Woah, is this….gravy?" Keshiga asked staring at the liquid with intent interest.

"It sure is Hana said shooing him away so she could get some more dishes. "Now take those dishes out to the table, we're running out of room here"

"Okay okay" Keshiga took the two large dishes out to the table. The first one was a ham that was smoked with a sort of honey. The next was actually a plate of a mashed vegetable that had all the properties of a potato. "You guys done setting up the table?" he asked Sachi and Irina.

"Almost done" Sachi said placing the last fork.

"Done here" Irina said placing a napkin neatly on a plate.

Keshiga placed the two dishes on the table.

"Ohhh! That looks great!" Sachi said marveling at the steaming dish in front of her.

"Haha! If only Ellen were here to see this!" Keshiga said laughing. Sachi giggled in response.

**Aincrad 46****th**** Floor**

"Achoo!" Ellen sneezed. She rubbed her nose and sniffled a bit.

"You okay?" Norie asked pulling her cap from above her eyes. They were by a tree in the shade on the outskirts of town. "You didn't come in contact with dark matter did you?"

"No, I'm fine." Ellen said playing around with a flower.

"I think someone's talking about you" Norie noted.

**ooo**

"All set!" Keshiga said placing the final dish on the table.

"Good job everyone!" Sakai said drying her hands with a cloth. "Hana, can you call Futaro and Moto in?"

"Sure thing" Hana replied going out to get the two. There was a knock on the door."Oh? I wonder who that could be" she said going to get it. Opening the door, she was three familiar faces. They were the party from before.

"Oh you guys came!" Sakai said motioning for them to come in.

"Thank you for having us" The leader said.

Noticing the familiar faces, Sachi, Irina, and Keshiga introduced themselves. The leader's name was Voleke. He was a simple sword fighter. The girls name was Helen; she too only wielded a sword. The last member was named Jayson.

"Hey Sakai, you didn't tell me we were going to have more guests" Futaro said noticing the three new additions to the party.

"Oh, sorry!"

"Bah it's completely fine!" He shook it off sitting down. "We're a nice bunch of people, so try to enjoy the party" he said to Voleke. After a bit of waiting, everyone managed to gather around the table of food. "Ahem, welcome everyone to this Thanksgiving party. I hope that everyone enjoys the food that Sakai and company worked so hard on. Happy Thanksgiving!" Futaro cheered. "Dig in!"

**ooo**

The festivities were on. Everyone was happily eating and drinking. Chatting, hollering, everyone was having a grand time. Amidst the chatting and fun, Keshiga noticed that Sachi was missing from the party.

"Sachi? Sachi!" Keshiga called out searching for her. Eventually, he found her sitting at the front porch of the guild house by herself.

"Hey" he said taking a seat next to her.

"Hey" she responded glaring at the sunset.

"Having a good time?" he asked glaring with her.

"Yea, I haven't eaten like this in months!" Sachi replied patting her stomach. Silence fell upon them again.

"Where are you going after this Sachi?" Keshiga asked.

"Well…" Sachi gave it some thought, "I'm going to be training more."

"Will Irina be joining you?"

"No, she told me she wanted to split from the party until further notice" Sachi shook her head.

"Are you scared of being alone again?" Keshiga asked facing Sachi.

"Kind of" Sachi played a bit with the dirt below the stone step. Suddenly, she felt a warm presence on her cheek. She turned her head slightly to see Keshiga kissing her on the cheek. Instantly her face turned red and she stammered her next few words. I..I…um…ah…uuu…"

"You're never alone, remember that" he said giving a smile.

"Uh…." Sachi said as her face mellowed down. "Yea" she said managing to give a smile.

"Bwahahaha!" A voice called out from behind. "Keshiga's finally made his move hasn't he?" It was Irina, supposedly drunk.

"Irina… are you drunk? You know you're underage right?" Keshiga pointed out.

"Ahh don't worry! This won't affect me in real life" Irina said leaning on the both of them. "So, you two gonna get together?"

"Cut it out!" Keshiga said trying to shake Irina off.

"Ahaha!"Irina replied with a short hiccup.

"Dessert guys!" Sakai called out as she started cutting the pies. After dessert was served, everyone, and I mean everyone was stuffed. No one could eat another bite. Not physically of course, but mentally, it was gluttonous.  
"Sakai, did I mention that I love you?" Moto asked gripping her hands with his. It was obvious that he was so emotionally happy that he couldn't help himself but shed tears.

"Aww, you're too nice Moto" Sakai said.

"I've got to admit Sakai, that was probably the best meal I've ever had, even if it's virtual." Futaro commented. Just then, Voleke came up to him.

"Erm, Futaro?" He asked with a rather serious tone. "We would like to join your guild!" he proposed with a bow.

Futaro got up from his chair and glared down at him. He placed a hand on Volekes shoulder and said "The goal of this guild is to become as strong as the KoB. Are you and your party ready to take upon that challenge?"

"Yes Sir!" Voleke and company responded.

"Then it's decided! Futaro's Mercenaries have an additional three members!" Everyone cheered to welcome the three new members of this lively guild. Maybe it was a sign that Futaro's Mercenaries would rise to the rank of the Knights of Blood and The Holy Dragon Alliance someday. It was a sliver of a chance, but it just might happen.

**November 24, 2023**

"Well, it's about time I get going. It was good to see you again Keshiga. Thank you for a great Thanksgiving" Sachi said waving at the guild that had showed her so much hospitality.

"Goodbye! Nice seeing you again Keshiga!" Irina said bidding her farewells.

"It was nice to see you two too!" Keshiga said waving at them.

"Be sure to visit again!" Futaro called out.

"We will!" Sachi called out as they parted ways. After they lost sight of the two, the guild stopped waving.

"Nice girls aren't they?" Moto said to Keshiga. "You gonna make a move any time soon?" he jeered.

"No!" Keshiga pouted. Everyone laughed at Keshiga's embarrassment as they slowly walked back to their guild house.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13 – Merry Christmas

Authors Notes – Some scenes in this chapter are depicted in the anime and the LN. I DO NOT claim rightful ownership of these scenes. I am only using them to enhance the environment of my story and do not seek any personal gain by using these scenes.

**Aincrad 45****th**** Floor, December 24, 2023**

It was Christmas Eve and Sachi was lying down on her bed alone. Irina had left a about two weeks ago to search for some guilds that might accept her. Sachi didn't know why she didn't just join Futaro's guild, maybe she was trying to avoid Keshiga or something, who knows. Opening her menu, she heard the chime of the little bells ring. Level 55 it said on her status menu. Hit it just before the deadline too. Why did they split up anyway? Sachi asked herself. She remembered that Norie said it was for them to experience the world of Aincrad more freely instead of being bound to a mentor. Norie was right, Sachi had experienced the world mostly on her own. All of its fear, the danger; the glory and the happiness, Sachi experienced it all in these six months. All of this would have been impossible if it hadn't been for Norie. If Norie hadn't been there to revive her, she wouldn't be lying here. For that, she was thankful. Sachi was sure Norie knew that and closed her eyes with a smile.

**Aincrad 49****th**** Floor – Myugen**

"Lately, you've been taking big risks with your level-raising" A girl said from behind.

"Did you get any new information?" Kirito asked. He was sitting on a bench in front of a large Christmas tree in the plaza of town.

"Nothing worth charging money for" The girl said.

"What a useless information broker. Pretty unusual for you Argo" Kirito muttered not turning around.

"This is a first-time event. It wasn't in the beta" Argo replied putting one hand on her hip and raising the other to give a half shrug. "There's no way to get information. On Christmas Eve… in other words, late tonight, the event boss, "Nicholas the Renegade," will appear beneath a certain fig tree. The big guilds are searching pretty hard for it." She explained crossing her arms leaning on the bench.

Kirito stood up.

"You have an idea where it is don't you?" Argo asked turning her head to look at him.

"Maybe" Kirito muttered.

"You're seriously going to try and solo it?" Argo tried to ask, but it was too late. He was already too far away to hear her.

**ooo**

"Hold on…you're not serious about this are you Kirito, are you?"

"I'm very much so serious Norie" Kirito responded. They were sitting at a café.

"It's almost like a suicide mission" Norie muttered sipping her hot chocolate.

"If it's to revive Sachi, then I will do anything!" Kirito said slamming his fist onto the table. A little menu popped up next to his fist that said indestructible object.

"I'm telling you, you don't have to do this" Norie tried to talk him out of trying to solo the boss called Nicholas the Renegade. "Trust me. You're in for disappointment" What Norie meant by disappointment was the fact that the stone had to be used 10 seconds within hitting 0 HP and the fact that Sachi is still alive.

"What do you know?!" Kirito started to yell angrily. "This is my only chance to bring her back. And I'm stopping at nothing to do so. I'll probably die. I'll die in a place where no one will see me, leaving nothing behind." Kirito said getting up." Don't follow me" He turned around and headed out.

"Kirito…" Norie muttered. She lowered her head sadly. That same mentality of dying where no one will see you, she had that too. The memory of the alley flashed in her mind as her heart was stricken with a familiar pain of despair.

"Shouldn't you just tell him?" Ellen asked playing around with her cake a bit. "He's risking his life for this after all"

Norie shook her head. "It's not my place to tell him that Sachi is still alive. She has to tell him herself"

"But he's in for a load of disappointment" Ellen noted.

"He'll just have to learn it the hard way" Norie still glared at the diminishing figure of Kirito. "Don't get yourself killed"

**ooo**

"_In this world. The dead won't return." _Kirito was flipping through his menu bringing out his best equipment and weapons. He was sitting on his bed at the inn. "_But there's a rumor that Nicholas the Renegade drops an item that can revive the dead."_ He pulled his sword out. "_If I try and fight him alone…"_ His sword disappeared and another one appeared. "_I'll probably die." _He said to himself staring at his reflection in his blade. His cold eyes stared back at him with self loathing and sadness. "_I'll die in a place where no one will see me" _The image of Keita's despairing face flashed in his mind. "_…leaving nothing behind"_

"_You where a beater…" Keita said with his eyes widening with anguish, "You never had any right to be with us!" His mouth was open shouting words of anger. His eyes dilated to express his disbelief. His hands trembled the tighter he gripped a ring with their guild house keys on it; keys that he will never use. He turned to his right slowly with his heart beating fast. He climbed the stone railing planting both of his feet on it. _

_Kirito knew what he was going to do next. "No!" he shouted with his mouth wide open running as fast as he can to try to stop Keita. But he was too late. Keita fell forward into the endless cloudy abyss. _

"_That's right. I…My arrogance….killed you." The image of Sachi's soul being lost etched itself into his mind playing over and over._

"_If I hadn't hidden my level…" Kirito stood up._

**Aincrad Floor 35, Forest Maze**

"_If I can defeat Nicholas, Sachi's soul will return, and I'll be able to hear her last words" _Kirito was looking at a map trekking through the snow. He looked up; the shadow of a huge tree that towered over all the other trees was visible through the falling snow.

"_No matter what words she uses to curse me, I must accept them." _Kirito ran towards the area transition as a ripple in space was made before he disappeared. As he was running, towards the tree, he heard the sound of people teleporting in. He stopped and slid through the snow to see who it was. It was Klein's guild.

"Yo" He said in a calm manner.

"You followed me?" Kirito asked.

"Yeah," He replied bluntly. "You're after that revival item?"

"Yeah"

"Don't risk your life on a stupid rumor" Klein pleaded. "If you die in this game, you die for real. The moment our HP drops to zero, our brains in the real world-"

"Shut up" Kirito said. He's had enough with people trying to talk him out of it.

"Fighting solo is crazy. Cut it out! Join us…" Klein said putting his hand up to his chest. "Whoever gets the revival item drop keeps it, without hard feelings either way. That's fair right?"

"Then there'd be no point" Kirito muttered gripping his sword handle in its sheath. "I have to do it myself."

Klein's guild members drew their weapons for an attack. Klein just signaled to lower them. "I can't let you die here, Kirito!"

Kirito drew his sword. Just then, many more blue lights came about behind Klein's guild. Klein and his companions backed up to Kirito.

"You were followed too, Klein" Kirito said.

"Looks that way" Klein replied glaring at their numbers.

"The Holy Dragon Alliance?" One member asked.

"They'll do anything for a rare item."

"What do we do?"

"Damn it!" Klein said gripping his katana with both hands. "Go Kirito!"

"Klein…" Kirito said rather confused. "We'll hold them off!"

"Need some help?" A voice asked as a blue light emerged from next to Klein.

"Dun!" A little girls voice said giving a bright entrance.

"Norie!" Kirito said.

"Listen to him Kirito." Norie said pulling Ellen out. "Go, we'll try to keep them away for as long as possible" she looked back at him. "Don't die on us"

Kirito nodded as he turned back and started running in the opposite direction of the two guilds.

**ooo**

Kirito stood in front of a massive tree. The entire figure of the tree was glowing a faint blue. It was painted white with the snow that had collected on it.

"_Kirito!" A voice called out loudly from behind him. He looked to see who it was, but his vision blurred. He only got a glimpse. But that voice…. It sounded familiar._

Kirito opened his eyes. He must have spaced out for a couple of seconds. The image of that person flashed in his mind again. "That voice back then…" Why did he suddenly remember this now? It's been six months. What was so important about that particular memory? "That voice back then, could it have been… Sachi?" He mumbled to himself in thought. "Could it be? No… it couldn't. Maybe I was just seeing things…" The loud chime of bells was heard. "But that was definitely her voice back then…" Then, the sound of sleigh bells rang in the area. Two white streaks of light made its way across the sky above Kirito, and the huge figure of a monster came flying down from the air causing a huge shockwave blasting snow everywhere. Nicholas the Renegade it was called.

"'Shut up" Kirito muttered drawing his sword. He screamed his lungs out as he kicked hard into the thick layer of snow.

**ooo**

Everyone was panting and moaning out of fatigue.

"Whew, they were stronger than I thought." Norie muttered sitting cross legged next to Klein.

"Like usual, nice work" Klein said giving a thumbs-up.

Just then, the figure of Kirito made its way into the area. He was holding an egg shaped stone.

"Kirito!" Klein said gladly. But he noticed something was off. Kirito looked even more depressed than usual. A shadow was cast upon his pale emotionless face. He threw the stone to Klein.

"H-hey…" Klein muttered catching the rainbow shaped stone."Let me see.." he muttered checking out the details. "The target player…"

"The target player must be revived within ten seconds of their avatar exploding" Norie interrupted getting up.

"Norie…" Klein muttered.

"Use it on the next person you see die" Kirito said turning and walking away. Klein got up and grabbed his cloak.

"Kirito..Kirito!" He said. "You have to survive! Survive until the end, please…" He started to cry.

"Bye" Kirito muttered walking away. Klein dropped to his knees.

"Kirito…." Norie muttered trailing after him. The rainbow stone known as the Divine Stone of Returning Soul gleamed in a blanket of snow.

**ooo**

"Kirito wait…" Norie said following him into the dense snowy forest. She tried to place a hand on his shoulder, but he turned around staring at Norie.

"You knew about it didn't you?" He asked with his emotionless voice.

"I warned you" Norie said. "I told you, you were in for disappointment."

Kirito said nothing and simply started walking again before he stopped one more time. "Tell me one thing, how did you know about its' properties?"

Norie was silent for a moment before answering. "I've used the stone before" she tried her best not to reveal the revival of Sachi.

Thankfully, that was enough to satisfy Kirito. He didn't care anymore. There was no way to revive Sachi now he thought to himself. Again, Kirito said nothing and started walking away. Norie stood there in silence deciding not to follow him.

"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ellen asked. She was silent throughout this whole ordeal. She knew it was serious, so she was out of place to try one of her antics. She gripped Norie's cold hand with both of hers.

"I hope so" Norie said turning back and starting her way back to town. "Sachi….hurry."

**Aincrad 46****th**** Floor, December 25, 2023**

Maybe it was a dream of some sort, but something woke Sachi up. She checked the time, it was early in the morning. She rubbed her eyes and got up to a sitting position on her bed.

"That's right…. The guild" she muttered to herself pulling her sheets off. She had been planning it for a long time now, but she had to put it off until Christmas. Sachi was planning on reviving the Black Cats of the Full Moon as a Christmas gift to her deceased guild members. She figured Kirito had moved on since he still thought he was the sole survivor. So she decided to take it upon herself to keep the guild alive. Thus, she was going to rename it to the New Black Cats of the Full Moon. It was a longer name, but it did suit the purpose well. She wore nothing but simple shoes, a thin sweater and her nightgown as she walked slowly through the snow filled streets of town. She stood in the middle of the street for a little bit in silence. The thoughts of her guild mates rushed through her head. After a while, she felt a gust of cold wind blow right through her. The cold sting brought her back to her senses as she continued on to the Guild Office.

"Excuse me…" she asked the receptionist. "I would like to establish a guild"

"Sure thing, just create a name and pay the fee." The receptionist said flipping through some menus.

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor**

It was unruly to call the owners of the property out this early, but Sachi had no time to waste.

"Yaawnn" A person yawned. "Do you know what time it is?" he asked rubbing his eyes. "Let's get this over with then."

"I would like to buy this property" Sachi said pointing to a small house. On the door it said "Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House"

"That? It's been sold already." He replied flipping through menus. "Keita was his name. It seems everyone is deceased except for one person"

"I know" Sachi said glaring at the Christmas moon. "I'm the one who is still living"

"Hmmm" The property owner said scratching his head. "Well, since you're already part of the guild, I can give you a certificate of ownership to the property for free. Think of it as a Christmas gift" he said sending Sachi mail. "It'll take a couple of minutes to arrive."

"Thank you" Sachi said sitting down on the porch.

"I'll be going now. You try to get some sleep too" he said waving. "Good luck"

"Merry Christmas" she responded waving back as his figure disappeared into a blue light.

Sachi waited for a couple of minutes. Then, a flashing envelope icon started blinking at the corner of her sight. She pressed it and a menu opened. There was an item labeled "Certificate of Property Ownership" She pressed receive but another menu opened.

"Due to security reasons, you must disable your Hide Status preference. "

"Ah…" Sachi had completely forgotten about that. She remembered that she had hidden her online status to keep her existence secret from Kirito. Opening her menu, she went to preferences. There, she disabled "Hide Status" and her name became green again. Opening her inventory, she placed the certificate. She stumbled upon something that she also had forgotten. The shared inventory slot between her and Kirito was still there. The guild page deleted due to inactivity. But this, this slot still remained. Kirito's green name shone nice and bright to show he was still alive. She closed her eyes and sighed. This made her remember one more thing. Sometime before her supposed "death", she had recorded a message for Kirito to only be sent on Christmas. Her eyes shot open, she remembered what she had said.

She hastily opened her inventory hoping Kirito hadn't received it yet, but she was too late. Right when she opened the shared inventory slot again, the crystal disappeared from her inventory.

**ooo**

It was a message from Sachi. But Kirito was too busy thinking about something else that made his heart almost stop. As he took the crystal out of his inventory, he saw something that prevented him from opening it. Right when he received the crystal, another menu popped up on the side. What did it say? Well it said "Sachi is now online, Location: Floor 27"

"What is this…." Kirito said clenching his fist. "Is this some kind of joke?!" he yelled out mercilessly to the gods. He slumped back into his chair and started crying as his grip on the little crystal became even tighter. They were mocking him, the game was mocking him, Kayaba Akihiko was mocking him, the universe was mocking him and he couldn't do anything about it. Amidst his sobbing, another window chimed. It was a blurry sight, but Kirito still read it. "Sachi has been promoted to Guild Leader of the New Black Cats of the Full Moon" Kirito was silent. His arms fell down swinging with gravity. He just stared at the notification, not saying a word. Was this still a joke? Is Sachi still alive? All these questions pulsed through Kirito's brain. None of them would be answered if he just sat there moping.

"Sachi…." He muttered getting up and slamming his hands onto his desk. He let the tears drop as they made a light drip sound. He turned and ran out the door as fast as he could. He ran down the hall of the inn and trampled his way down the stairs noisily. He didn't care if he woke up the entire inn, he simply didn't care. He had to get to the 27th Floor; he had someplace he had to be, he had someone to see.

The 27th Floor of Aincrad was filled with too many painful memories. As Kirito walked the heart clenching familiar streets, he headed to a place all too familiar to him. As he turned the corner of the guild house, he saw the figure of a precious friend, sitting at the porch of his former guilds guild house. He hid on the side of the house out of her sight, just staring. About to go in and confront Sachi, Kirito took a step, but Sachi started to talk to herself. It was loud enough for Kirito to hear, so he simply listened

Sachi started reciting the message she had sent Kirito months before, but this time, she changed some lines to accommodate her present being. She did it because she assumed that Kirito was listening to her outdated message. As Kirito was listening to her message from before, she would be saying the message as she would have said if he were here right now.

_Kirito, Merry Christmas._

_At the time when you hear this message, I should have died a long time ago. But somehow, my luck is still running strong and I'm sitting here still living. I had completely forgotten to take this out, and now, you can't hear me say it personally._

_That… Let me clarify why I am giving you this message._

_I thought I wouldn't survive long. Of course, this does not mean that I doubted the capability of Kirito and the Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild. That is because Kirito is very strong and the rest of us had gotten stronger by the day._

_How should I explain this…. A very close friend of mine from another guild lost her life. Being timid was what we had in common; even up until today, I'm still rather shy. She only hunted in safe areas, but because of her bad luck, she was killed by mobs on her way back to town. After that, I pondered over various things and I came to a conclusion. To continue surviving in this world, it matters not how strong your companions are, if you do not have the will to live or the determination to survive no matter what, death definitely waits._

_For me…Truthfully, ever since the first time I stepped into the beginner practice area, I was very afraid; I still kind of am. Actually, I never intended to leave the Starting City. Although I was very close to members from the Black Cats of the Full Moon in the real world, and I enjoyed the time we spent together, I hated going into battles. Only until recently have I found the will and the means to fight. The problem that lied within me I resolved to fix myself. _

_Ever since that night, you've been telling me it's alright every night and that I won't die. That's why if any chance I die, in which I did, you'll definitely blame yourself for it and won't forgive yourself. This is also the reason why I'm telling you this. I would like to tell Kirito, it isn't your fault. If there is any problem, it would be me. The date was set for Christmas, which is today. I intended to survive until then, but you know how that went in June. Thankfully, I was revived by a certain someone, I think she might know you, her name is Norie. Because of her help, I was able to survive until now, still hoping to walk down the snowy street together with you._

_Actually, I knew how strong Kirito was. One time, when I woke up from Kirito's bed, I accidentally saw your level from you opened status window behind you. _

_Even after thinking long and hard, I still did not manage to come up with any reasons why Kirito-kun would hide his real level and form a party with us. I still can't. But I didn't mention this to the other members, as I believed someday you would tell us the reason personally…I was rejoicing when I found out that you are very strong. After knowing that, I started to sleep peacefully as long as I am by your side. Even without sleeping by your side these past few weeks, I would lie on my bed alone knowing that you still stay strong. This inspired me to become as strong as you someday, so that you won't have to protect me anymore. Perhaps to you, being with me might be of significance to you, this also makes me happy. If this is the case, there was definitely meaning in me coming to the higher floors even for a timid person like me._

_That…Actually, what I am trying to say is, even though I am still alive, you should strive to survive. Live on, look upon this world until it ends, please help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting, the importance of why I am still alive today, but cannot tell you this in person. That is my wish._

_I remember when I first recorded this message, I sang a song. What was that song again? I remember now, since Christmas is such a special occasion, I sang a Christmas carol. I do have some confidence in my voice. I guess I'll go with {Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer}. Actually, I would have preferred to sing other songs like [Winter Wonderland], [White Christmas] which are more well known, but unfortunately, I can only sing the lyrics of this song._

_Why do I only remember [Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]? The previous night before I made this message, Kirito said something to me, "No matter who you are, you definitely can make a difference in someone's life." Telling me that even if it is me, there is a place where I belong. After hearing those words, I was extremely glad even to this day and I remembered this song. I don't know why, but it was probably because I kind of thought of myself as Rudolph and you as Santa Claus… if I have to put it in words, you give off a fatherly feeling. My father left me when I was still very young, that is why every night when I was sleeping beside you, I kept wondering if that was the feeling that a father would give. Ah, okay, I'll start singing._

_Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose._

_All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names._

_Then one Christmas Eve_

_Santa came to say:_

_"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"_

_Rudolph who was always crying, started smiling that night._

_... To me, you'll always be like a bright star that shines and guides me from the opposite end of a dark alley. Hello Kirito. It was really fortunate of me to have met you and to be with you. _

_Thank you._

_Goodbye_

_I hope to see you again soon_

Sachi was silent after she breathed in the cold winter air.

The tears started flowing down Kirito's cheeks as he took a step forward and turned the corner. Then another, and another, before he stopped a little bit away from Sachi. He had finally heard Sachi's last words. _Thank you. Goodbye_

Sachi heard these footsteps and turned to see who it was. Her heart skipped a beat, "Kirito…" It was Kirito, standing right before her.

"Sachi…" Kirito said trying to keep his eyes open from his sobbing. "Sachi!"

**Notes:** So Sachi and Kirito finally see each other again! I was shedding tears when I was typing out Sachi's message :P But that's just me. Hope you guys enjoyed! and remember, your thoughts are always appreciated!

**Note** **2:** I'll be taking a short break from publishing at the moment. I know you guys are excited for the next chapter, but you'll just have to wait a couple of days :P I'll stop for a week or so and continue to publish. Additionally, summer breaks almost over for me, so if I don't publish for extended periods of time, please understand that I'm busy with school and etc.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14 – One Big Happy Guild Family

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, December 25, 2023**

Was this a dream? Kirito wasn't sure if this was reality, or a dream. Then again, the entire world of Aincrad was basically a dream. This would classify as a dream within a dream; at least, that was how Kirito was feeling right now. Before him stood Sachi, the person whom he thought was dead. All this time, he had been living in agony and self hatred, only to see her stand here and take all that away from his heart.

"S-achi…" Kirito gagged on his own tears getting closer to her with each step. His hands were trembling.

"Kirito…" Sachi stared at Kirito's tear stricken face with blank surprise

"Is…is it….really you?" He asked extending his shaking hand forward to touch her cheek with the back of his hand. It felt so warm compared to Kiritos cold hands. He then turned his hand around and caressed Sachi's cheek softly wiping a tear that rolled down with his thumb.

"It is" Sachi nodded placing her own hand on his.

"It's you…. It's really you!" Kirito cried out as he wrapped his arms around Sachi bringing her head close to his chest. He hugged tightly, not wanting to let go of Sachi again. It was like a father finally seeing his long lost daughter. "Sachi….Sachi.." he called her name. He dug his face in her blue hair and pressed his lips softly on her head. It was the weirdest thing that Kirito had ever done in his life, but he didn't know how else to express his happiness. "You're alive….Sachi….you're alive…."

"I am, it's okay Kirito…. I'm here now" Sachi said as her tears dried themselves against Kirito's shirt. She wrapped her own arms around him. Endless streams of tears were flowing out of Kirito's eyes, but he didn't bother to wipe them. Overcome with such emotion, he couldn't do anything but stand there with Sachi in his arms.

It felt like hours of crying and sobbing maybe, who knows how much time had passed. Sachi and Kirito were just standing there embracing each other. Eventually, they found themselves sitting down on the porch of the guild house next to each other.

Sachi took this time to explain the events thus far that have happened to her. She explained the reason why she hid the fact that she was still alive and how she wanted to wait until she was stronger to confront Kirito. She told him the stories of her soloing days. She told him her plans of recreating the Black Cats. It was a lot to take in, but Kirito managed to absorb it all with a mutter of agreement. After a couple of moments of silence, Sachi added one more thing.

"Keita appeared to me in a dream. He told me to tell you that he's sorry"

Kirito smiled and shook his head. "_I'm sorry Keita_" He looked at Sachi. "It was my fault though" The snow was falling lightly as it collected on the streets.

"But you didn't do anything wrong" Sachi said with a warm smile.

Kirito said nothing only rubbing his face with one hand. "They still died" He said after looking up at the snowy sky.

Sachi said nothing. Even thought she was still alive, the rest of her guild wasn't. No matter how much Sachi would try to reassure him that it wasn't his fault, the blame would still be partially Kirito's. You couldn't change that fact. It was still a heavy burden to deal with for Sachi, but she had to endure.

He looked at Sachi and managed to say, "Do you want to take that walk?" He got up and held his hand out.

Sachi smiled gently taking his hand.

It was indeed a nice warm feeling on the cold winter day. Sachi truly felt as if she were in a winter wonderland. Remembering that Kirito's hands were as cold as ice when he touched her cheek and without thinking, Sachi gripped his hand with her own.

"Uh, Sachi.." Kirito said with an unsettled look on his face. The old Sachi would squeal at the mere thought of holding his hand; at least that's what Kirito would deduce.

"Your hands are cold" Sachi said smiling lightly, "I'll help you keep them warm."

Kirito simply smiled and pressed onward. His heart was as cold as ice since the day Sachi "died", but now, now it seems as if the mere presence of her had melted the frost of pain and emptiness.

After walking a bit through the empty white street with their footsteps making a light and gentle thud, Sachi and Kirito had stumbled upon a small café. The sweet aroma of pastries and hot chocolate filled their nostrils. Sachi looked at the baked goods on display with delight pressing her nose on the glass like a child. Kirito noticed this, "Do you want to go in?" he asked her.

"Yes," This little cafe looked just like the one she used to go to when she was younger. It was a very nostalgic sight to her.

"_Do you want to go in Sachiyo?" A man asked placing a hand on the shoulder of a four year-old girl known as Sachi. Her nose was pressed up against the glass and she was staring at the delectable treats with much glamour. _

"_Yes!" Sachi replied with much enthusiasm turning and raising her arms up to her beloved father so he can take her in his arms and carry her. _

_Sachi stared at her "daddy" with much admiration as she happily munched on the strawberry of her cake. "Daddy? Where does snow go when it's Spring?" Sachi asked pointing out the window to the falling snow._

"_I don't know" he simply said glaring out the same window. Something was off about him. He wasn't his usual talkative self. Usually, her father would say much more than just "I don't know". He sighed and took a sip of his coffee still staring through the frosty glass._

_**ooo**_

"_Daddy? Daddy!?" Sachi called out roaming her house for her father. She saw him at the front door after she got down the stairs, he looked as if he was going someplace. "Daddy, can we go to the bakery?" she asked innocently tugging at the sleeve of his coat._

_He bent down and smiled. "Sorry Sachiyo. I'm going away for a long time, so I won't have the time to take you."_

"_Away? Where are you going?" Sachi asked tilting her head in confusion._

"_Some place far away"_

"_When will you be back?"_

"_I don't know yet" He replied kissing the top of her head before caressing her cheek. "But while I'm gone, take care of mommy okay?"_

"_Okay!" Sachi said with a smile, "I'll wait every day until daddy comes home"  
"That's my girl. Goodbye" Her father said patting her head. He then stood up straight and picked his briefcase up and waved before closing the door behind him. "You'll be waiting forever then…" he muttered sadly to himself as he walked down the street in the drenching rain._

_**ooo**_

"_Mommy!" Sachi said hugging her mother. "Do you know when daddy's coming home?"_

"_Daddy?" Her mother replied in a low tone. "Daddy's never coming back…"_

"_Huh?"_

"_Nothing. I don't know when daddy will come back Sachiyo" Her mother said kneeling down to placing both her hands on the sides of Sachi's head. "But I need to tell you something dear. There's a chance that daddy might not come home. So if mommy comes home with another man, you need to treat him like you would daddy okay?"_

"_But what if he's not nice?" _

"_Don't worry" Her mother said giving a sentimental smile. "He will always be nice"_

"Sachi…Sachi?" Kirito asked. Sachi immediately broke away from her thoughts. "Are you listening?"

"Ah yes, I was just day dreaming away for a moment" Sachi said picking up the strawberry of her cake with her fork.

"How has life as a solo been for you?" Kirito asked with a grin after taking a sip of his coffee.

"Ho-how did you know?" Sachi asked widening her eyes.

"I heard in your message that you were sleeping alone for the past few weeks."

"A-ah…. Well…" From looking down at the strawberry on her fork and putting it in her mouth "It was harder than I thought. But if Kirito-kun could do it, then I could find the courage to do the same"

"Erm… really?" Kirito was a little flattered; Sachi really did look up to him. Was this the feeling a father felt when his daughter look up to him? Kirito never had anyone to look up to. Four years prior to SAO, he had learned that his real parents died when he was born. Even though his foster parents took care of him, he never really connected with anyone except his "sister" Suguha.

"Mhm. I wanted to start on a clean slate and show to you that I don't need protecting anymore. I'm sorry Kirito, for keeping myself a secret for these past months. It must have been hard for you"

"Ah, it's okay. What matters now is that you're here" Kirito said staring into her aqua blue eyes. He remembered back six months before her eyes would usually be filled with terror, or tears of some sort. But when he looked into her eyes now, there was such a different aura in them. It was hard for Kirito to put it into words, but that feeling of terror emanating from her eyes was gone. "I assume by soloing you've gained a lot of levels right?"

Sachi nodded and opened her menu. She then slid her fingers from side to side showing Kirito her status menu. It said "Level 55"

Kirito gasped lightly with surprise. He himself was level 70 at this time, and there were certain others that he knew who were around her level also. To see someone like Sachi get to a level that high was beyond his understanding, even without his presence. There must have been such a driving force in Sachi's mind to enable her to leave her fears and fight. This was what amazed Kirito. Maybe it does take a near death experience to completely change a person.

"Amazing…" he said putting his coffee cup down, he grinned brightly.

"I want to fight alongside you Kirito." Sachi proposed suddenly.

Kirito was a little surprised at her sudden burst of enthusiasm. He was still a bit unused to this "new" Sachi. "We've fought together before, don't you remember?"

Sachi puffed her cheeks a bit in thought, "But back then, I was your student. Now, I want to fight by your side as a fellow clearer. "

"But the floors are getting more dangerous now. It's going to get pretty scary" Kirito advised. He sounded like a father not letting his daughter go out.

"I'm not scared!" Sachi said bringing her lip up and puffing her cheeks even more. Just like a father who is trying to protect his daughter, a daughter must always rebel if she wanted something that badly. "I told myself that I will become stronger, and I want to prove it"

Kirito sighed; he guessed that Sachi was going to insist no matter what. There was no point in fighting against her stubborn side, but at the same time, he was still concerned about her. What if she died again? Kirito would go through all that suffering again and he didn't want to go through it one more time. It was as if this mere thought was a foreshadowing of a future event. No one with the right mind set would want to go through something like that twice. "Fine, I'll see you in the Labyrinth" he said giving a slight grin and sipping his coffee.

Sachi smiled brightly with happiness, "I won't let you down!"

"You never have…" Kirito said to himself staring dreamily at her. He placed his hand on his heart; his chest was warm. He couldn't help but smile at his joy. It was such a ticklish feeling and he was filled with such a feeling that was absent for the past six months: Self-love. He chuckled raising his cup to his mouth before a voice called out:

"There you are Kirito!"

Kirito looked behind his shoulder. Sachi looked to see also. It was a girl with chestnut brown hair, a hint of concern was seen in her amber eyes. Her white blouse extended gracefully behind her. Her red skirt was complimented by the lines of red along her stockings and red sheath. The girl was so graceful, even more so than any other girl that Sachi had ever seen in SAO. It was hard to believe she looked like this in real life.

"Ah…..Asuna" Kirito said with a halfhearted smile and wave.

"Don't be so casual!" Asuna replied walking towards him eventually stopping to look him down with her hands on her hips. "You haven't been answering your messages, so I was worried and tracked you down. You could have at least responded"

"Ha… Sorry Asuna" Kirito rubbed the back of his head.

"Who's this?" Asuna asked looking at Sachi. "I'm Asuna"

"My name is Sachi" Sachi introduced herself with a courteous nod and smile as she raised her mug up to her lips sipping lightly. "Pleased to meet you"

"The pleasure is mine" Asuna said motioning for Kirito to scoot over. The waiter came over and took her order. Since it was rather cold, Asuna ordered tea.

"So what are you doing down on a low floor like this Kirito? It's not like there's any good farming spots around"

Kirito and Sachi exchanged glances rather suspiciously. Asuna gagged a little bit at a thought that sprang into her mind. She looked at Kirito, then at Sachi, then back at Kirito. Her face was a little red, "Ar-are you two…." She pointed at both of them. Asuna had interpreted it wrong and thought the two were going out.

Kirito looked at Asuna rather blankly as to express his shallowness. "Hmm?"

"Are you two… going out?" she whispered the last portion.

Kirito's mouth gaped open; "No no no!" he said flailing his arms around, "You got it all wrong. Sachi is an old friend of mine…" he stopped waving his arms around and glared into his mug.

"Eh?!" Sachi yelped a bit to herself almost spilled her drink. "_D-date?"_

"Kirito?" Asuna was wondering why he paused.

"Ah never mind, Sachi's an old friend of mine and I haven't seen her in a long time"

"I see" Asuna turned to Sachi, "I hope he's not giving you a hard time"

"Oh of course not" Sachi commented managing to recuperate. Sachi was taking sips from her drink while keeping a constant glance at the way Asuna looked at Kirito. She was smiling and her eyes were dreamily staring at him. Sachi knew what was up and smiled to herself. Trying to change the subject, she said, "Do you guys know when the next floor battle will be?" It seemed like a rather out of place question, but Sachi wanted to do anything to change the topic manner. Besides that, she also wanted to know when the boss battle is so she can participate. It would be the first boss battle she ever took part in SAO.

Asuna was silent for a moment at the abrupt question, "Well, the labyrinth on the 49th floor is about seventy percent explored, and we found the boss room too. We just need to find out the battle patterns for the boss so we can prepare ourselves. The plans are set for the third of January"

Sachi shook her head in acknowledgement. "I see…"

"Are you interested in helping us? All you need to do is show us that you can fight the mobs on the 49th floor Labyrinth to prove that you can survive."

"Yes" Sachi said nodding her head. As soon as Sachi said yes, Kirito almost choked on his coffee.

"Are you okay?" Sachi and Asuna asked expressing their concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" Kirito said. He was startled. Rumor says that the boss leading into the 50th floor of Aincrad would be much harder than the rest, just like the 25th floor. This would foreshadow that the losses would be heavy. The thought of Sachi fighting with such a high risk of death made him very nervous.

**ooo**

"Well, there's Heathcliff's message" Asuna said closing her inbox. "Kirito, let's go. He wants to see both of us" she finished the rest of her tea in one chug.

"Ah" Kirito said leaving a tip for the waiter getting up.

"I'll see you off then" Sachi said getting up the same time everyone else did. Walking through the now slightly busy streets of town, they made their way to the transfer gate. As she stepped through the snow alongside Kirito, Sachi was about to take his right hand with her own before she saw something. In her line of sight, she saw Kirito's and Asuna's hands intertwined on his left side. After seeing this, her suspicion was true and she giggled slightly to herself.

Right in front of the transfer gate, "Well I guess this is where I take my leave." Kirito said turning to Sachi placing a hand on each of her shoulders.

"I understand" Sachi said, "I'll be seeing you"

"Sachi…" Kirito said bringing her head close to his chest. He rested his chin on her head. "I'm glad that you're still here." They separated a bit as they stared into each other's eyes. Kirito pushed forward to kiss Sachi's forehead. "Please….survive" he said before hugging her one more time.

Asuna's face flared with red as she saw Kirito kiss Sachi on the head. She squealed a bit under her breath as she fidgeted with her toes and fingers.

"I will." Sachi replied as they separated. She went to see them off.

"Stay strong Sachi. I'll be seeing you around" Kirito said waving with a bright smile.

Asuna managed to calm down within the seconds after. "It was nice meeting you Sachi" she said despite the rather awkward scene she had witnessed.

Sachi shook her head yes and smiled, "I hope we can be good friends later"

"I hope so too" Asuna replied smiling back at Sachi. She then accompanied Kirito to the transfer gate and waved.

Sachi waved back. "Thank you. Goodbye" she replied waving back. Soon, they were engulfed in a blue light and disappeared.

Sachi turned around and started to make her way back to the New Black Cats of the Full Moon guild house. Pulling the key out of her inventory, she stuck it inside the lock and turned. There was a click and she turned the knob. The familiar sight of unused furniture and the smell of the musty room had given Sachi a sense of actually being home. Running her hand along the surface of a table, her fingers became grey as dust collected on them. She decided to explore the rest of the house. There were about 6 bedrooms, each of them was supposed to be for each member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon, but of course, that day would never come.

"Alright!" Sachi said to herself opening her inventory. She then equipped some work clothes that consisted of white pants. She wore a simple blue and light blue blouse and wore light teal slippers. "Time to get cleaning!"

**Aincrad 49****th**** Floor**

"Umm… Kirito? About Sachi….." Asuna started to say as they walked through the streets of Myugen.

"Hmm?" Kirito asked munching on a hot dog that he bought earlier from a stand.

"Are you sure you two aren't dating?"

"I told you, we're not. We're just good friends"

"Then why did you kiss her?" Asuna asked patting her head to indicate where Kirito had kissed Sachi.

"She's kind of special" Kirito felt like he was being cornered, but not by monsters this time. By Asuna, which Kirito found to be quite scary indeed.

"Special as in how?" Asuna asked digging her nose close to Kirito's face with her hands on her hip. Her finger was jabbing into Kirito's chest.

"Special as in…. well… you see…. She's…..umm…" Kirito couldn't find the right words nor was he able to think of any excuse. He had no choice but to come clean. He sighed deeply, "You see… I actually joined a guild six months ago."

"Guild?" Asuna was a little surprised as she curved an eyebrow up in keen interest. Kirito never joined a guild, no matter who invited him, he rejected them for some strange reason.

"Well, I joined them, but lied to them about my level. And one day, they all died because of my arrogance, including Sachi. I felt so terrible because of that, and I was scared that the same thing might happen if I joined another guild. That's why I play solo. I was living six months in agony and self hatred. But this morning, it was as if it was a miracle, but Sachi showed to me she was still alive. After all this time thinking she was dead." Kirito explained.

"How was she still alive?" Asuna asked a bit confused still.

"Ah, about that. You know Norie right?" Kirito asked. Asuna nodded. "Well, by chance, Norie had a Divine Stone of the Returning Soul and managed to save Sachi. Coincidence wasn't it?" he chuckled. "But despite these six months, I'm glad that she's still alive."

Asuna nodded and smiled in reply. It made her happy to see Kirito elated and in a good mood again. She had noticed for a long time now that Kirito had been sulking to himself occasionally. All that time, she wondered why Kirito did this. Now she had her answer.

"But it's true, Sachi is very special to me" Kirito said focusing his eyes on the now plain stick that once held a hot dog.

"Do you like her?"

"Ah, I do like her"

Asuna's heart sunk into disappointment upon hearing this. It was like a sword pierced her heart.

"But it's weird. It doesn't seem romantic to me. We kind of…. Rely on each other for comfort. It's kind of as if… Sachi was my daughter. I don't quite understand it fully but…it's like I'm her father or something. " Kirito didn't know how much cheesier this speech would get, so he cut himself off before he went any further.

Shouting words of happiness in her mind, Asuna almost leapt for joy. Kirito wasn't romantically interested in Sachi. Sighing and not saying anything trying to keep her composure, she nodded her head to what Kirito said. Giving a glance at him, she saw him staring at the sky with a gentle smile on his face.

**Aincrad 48****th**** Floor**

"Ahhh that Christmas special dessert was delicious!" Ellen said circling Norie's head midair.

"Expensive indeed" Norie said scratching her head as she checked how much money she had left. "Might have to go hunting later on today"

Norie and Ellen were enjoying their Christmas together walking down the streets of Lindearth.

"Why? It's Christmas. Take some time off once in a while!" Ellen said folding her hands and sparkling with delight. "We have more shopping to do too!"

Norie gave a sigh of exasperation as she noticed a little envelope was flashing at the top of her sight. She pressed it and checked an unread message. It was from Kirito.

"Kirito? Well now, I wonder what he's messaging me for…." Opening to see what it contained, she read aloud the short phrase:

_Thank you Norie, thank you for everything_

"Thank….you?" Norie asked. The phrase puzzled her for a moment. "Thank me….for what? For saving him a couple of times? No, he's already thanked me for that."

"Anything else you might've done for him?" Ellen asked sitting down at a nearby bench. "How about the Nicholas incident?"

"No, I don't think he would thank me for something like that…." Norie tapped her chin lightly. "He was really depressed during that…. And he's saying thank you now. What does that mean? He's depressed about not being able to save Sachi, and he's telling me thank you as if it where his final…..words…."

"Norie?" Ellen asked. Norie had instantly started sprinting it startled her.

"Ellen! We have to find Kirito now!" Norie said as she raced to the transfer gate.

"Wa-wait up! What's wrong? What's going on?" Ellen asked floating right behind Norie.

"Kirito's depressed that he can't save Sachi, so I think he's going to jump. That's why he sent the message to me. It's a goodbye message!" Norie ran as fast as her AGI could allow her to. "Crap crap crap! This is all my fault, if only I told him Sachi was still alive sooner!" Norie arrived at the transfer gate and hastily said, "Teleport! Myugen!"

Within seconds, Norie found herself in the large city of Myugen with Ellen floating right by her side. Flicking her wrist with her index and thumb pressed together, she opened up her map in the blink of an eye. Expanding her map out and out, she managed to spot a blue dot on the map on the other side of the city. "Good, I'm not too late" she muttered before taking flight and running again.

Turning the corners and almost bumping into people, Norie had finally reached the terrace where Kirito flashing blue dot was. He was standing near the railing that protected people from falling into the abyss to their deaths . Still running to the limits of her AGI, Norie yelled "Kirito! Don't do it!"

Kirito looked back to see who called at him, it was Norie running towards him. "Do what?" he asked.

"Eh?" Norie looked up to see Kirito with a hot dog in hand and Asuna standing next to him. Their bodies were bathed with the orange glow of the setting winter sun. Then, she felt her foot kick a loose tile or rock of some sort and she was sent hitting the snow face first. "Ooff!"

"Teaches you to watch your step next time" Ellen giggled poking Norie, who was lying face first on the soft layer of snow.

"Norie? What are you doing here?" Kirito asked.

"Norie, are you okay?" Asuna asked speed walking to aid Norie.

"I'm good," Norie wiped snow off her clothes. Norie was in her usual shorts, but she was wearing black stockings that covered her entire leg accompanied by a purple scarf. "Ahaha, I got your message and…. I kind of thought you were jumping"

"Jumping? Why would I do that for?" Kirito asked biting his hot dog.

"Well, you were kind of depressed about the Nicholas incident and I thought the message you sent me was your last goodbye"

Kirito laughed when he heard this. "It wasn't a last goodbye! I was just saying thanks for saving Sachi"

"Oh….well in that case, I guess I should say you're welco aaaaa!?" Norie cut herself off with an "Ahhhh!?" of surprise. "Y-You saw Sachi?" she asked pointing at Kirito with a trembling hand.

Kirito nodded, "Ah, it's all thanks to you Norie. I can't express how grateful I am for you"

"Anytime eh? How is she doing?"

"She's doing good, she brought back the Black Cats"

"That's good to hear" Ellen was tugging lightly at Norie's sleeve pointing to a flier about a bakery special not saying a word. "I guess I should get going then, it seems I shouldn't be interrupting a date any longer. Jya" she said raising a hand up goodbye.

"D-date?!" A slight blush was seen in Asuna's cheeks followed by a light squeal.

After looking at Asuna's sudden reaction to the word date, Kirito gave a rather nervous smile. "Thanks again Norie, see you at the boss battle"

"Sure thing" Norie replied giving a thumbs up while walking away from the two. There was a grin on her face as Ellen was grasping onto her own hand.

After Norie had left, it was just Kirito and Asuna again.

"_Date…._" Asuna thought to herself. She hadn't really given it much thought but, she did notice she was spending much more time with Kirito than any other person in SAO, even more so than some of her closest friends. Her heart was pacing a little faster now and her face was warm, what was this feeling? She asked herself glancing at Kirito's face. He was always so carefree, but yet, so gentle with those he cared about. Maybe that was what Asuna liked about him, yes, that was it. This feeling she was experiencing was a crush.

**ooo**

"Do they like each other?" Ellen asked nosing her way into other people's business as she and Norie dredged their way through the thick snow.

"Judging by Asuna's reaction to date, I can say that Asuna likes him" Norie replied chuckling softly to herself. "Then again, that Kirito is something. I'm sure a lot of girls would fall for him. Bad news for Sachi though, Asuna would be pretty hard competition."

"Now now, I don't think so" Ellen remarked giving a sly scoff, "There might be someone else she's looking at"

"Someone else?" Norie asked, "Who else would there be?"

"Oh, I dunno…." Ellen said sarcastically indicating that it was a rhetorical question. Norie should know the answer.

"Someone Sachi would have a crush on…." Norie muttered as she opened the door to the bakery that Ellen wanted to check out. The little bell rang when a customer entered. After sitting down with a bag of pastries in the bakery, Ellen gave a hint.

"He's going to leap to Sachi" Ellen emphasized the "Leap" portion.

"Oohhhh! Keshiga!" Norie said smashing her fist into her palm. Norie was such an idiot to not notice it before.

**ooo**

"Achoo!" It was rather unusual for Keshiga to sneeze in SAO, he had only done it about a couple times during the past year. "What the hell?" he asked himself rubbing his nose.

"Keshiga, hurry up!" Futaro said swooping his arms in an upward fashion.

"Commin' I'm commin'" Keshiga said getting into the Transfer Gate with the rest of Futaro's Mercenaries.

"Teleport, Aincrad Floor 27!"

**ooo**

"Whew!" Sachi said sitting down on a light colored wood chair. Aside from the main living room, there was a kitchen, a dining room, and a couple bedrooms. She was sitting in the dining room close to the window. The recently added beige colored complimented to the similar colored dining table. She looked around at how her refurbishing progressed; it was going slowly. Dusting and moving furniture was one thing, but having to go to the local NPC to buy some decorations ate up a lot of Sachi's time. There was no preview as to how it would look in the house, so she had to decide whether to buy it or to not. There was no room for middle ground. So far, she's only got the living room half decorated. A couple of paintings were hanging up, about 3 vases with flowers were allocated, and a table cloth for the coffee table. It still looked rather plain to her, so she was going to go shopping for some more aesthetics.

"Oh, I'm starting to run low on money too" Sachi checked her inventory. Yesterday, she had about 100k Col saved up, now, she only had about 7k. She might have to go hunting later too. Most of the expenses came from buying new furniture. There was the standard furniture that came with the property, but Sachi wanted to add some more chairs as this will be her guild HQ from now on. She bought the entire dining table set which included a long table and 10 chairs. She bought four additional couches, two for a single person, and two others that could fit about three people. The coffee table she bought also; the old one didn't really match. Sachi had already contacted the property owner and asked if it were possible to expand the house. He said yes, but it would be extremely pricey to add rooms.

Sachi sighed. Finishing off her tea, she got up. She was going to see if she could go to player markets and haggle; really, that was the only thing she could do right now. Opening the door, she saw a group of familiar faces standing right outside the door.

"Yo Sachi!" Someone called out.

"K-Keshga!?" Sachi was extremely surprised as Keshiga came up to hug her. "Wh-what are you doing here? How did you know I was here anyway?"

"It's Christmas! Well, when I woke up this morning, I saw a notification that you were online and that you became a guild leader. So we decided to give you a visit and see how you were doing"

"Well don't stand out there in the cold! Come in guys!" Sachi motioned for Futaro's Mercenaries to come in.

"How nice" Sakai said examining the paintings and flowers.

"Seems like a nice and cozy place" Voleke remarked exploring around.

"So how'd you get a place like this Sachi?" Futaro asked sitting down on the couch.

"Well, I kind of inherited it from my old guild." Sachi twiddled with her thumbs. She was a little uncomfortable about talking about her old guild for now.

"Her old guild members all died" Keshiga whispered in Futaros ear sitting down next to him. He nodded his head in understanding.

"Do you have any other guild members?" Hana asked bringing out a tray of tea and placing it on the coffee table for everyone to drink.

"No, it's just me for now" Sachi said going to the fireplace. The opened up a menu and pressed a button, then the fireplace lit up and the flames were crackling lightly.

"Eh? Do you have any friends to invite?" Moto asked leaning forward and taking a cup.

"Well, Keshiga's already with you guys, and I doubt Norie would join." Sachi said tapping her chin. "Other than that… I guess I don't have any friends to- Ah! Irina!" She had completely forgotten about Irina and she wondered if she had joined a guild yet. "Have you joined a guild yet?" Sachi muttered as she sent a message to Irina. "Other than Irina, I don't think I have any other friends that would join"

Keshiga was thinking, "Hey! How about we join your guild Sachi?" He blurted out.

"What?" Sachi asked. "Oh, no, you don't have to leave your guild to join mine!"

"Hey, who said only Keshiga was going to join?" Futaro grinned. He then turned to the rest of his guild. "Are you guys okay with migrating guilds?" he asked them.

"Ah, fine by me" Hana replied sipping her tea while sitting in her usual relaxed fasion.

"Sounds like a good idea" Sakai replied.

"I'll just tag along" Voleke shrugged.

"Sounds exciting doesn't it Jayson?" Helen asked

"Yea sure. .."

"That's not fine by me!" Moto pouted crossing his arms.

"Then it's decided. Futaro's Mercenaries will be disbanded and migrate to the New Black Cats of the Full Moon." Futaro said.

"Hey! Why do you completely ignore me?" Moto whined. He sighed, "Alright alright, if you can't beat them, join them."

"You hear that Sachi?" Keshiga asked giving a toothy smile.

Sachi was a little speechless for a moment. For a guild to so readily leave theirs and join another was beyond her. At least they are all still together. "You guys…" she said smiling. She cleared her throat to show that she was about to speak and everyone became quiet. "Erm…." She didn't know what to say since she wasn't expecting this many members to join so fast. Then it hit her, the dream of becoming as strong as the KoB that was the original goal of the Old Black Cats of the Full Moon. The goal of Futaro's Mercenaries was also to become as strong as the KoB.

"_Someday we'll go up to the ranks of the Knights of Blood and the Holy Dragon Alliance!" _Testuo's voice rang in her head. Sachi smiled. "We're going to be as strong as the KoB one day right?" she said with enthusiasm, and she hoped the rest of the guild followed.

"Right!" Everyone hollered. This enthusiasm was half expected by Sachi. "Well then…" she said leaning forward to grab a tea cup.

"To the New Black Cats of the Full Moon!" She said raising her cup.

"To the New Black Cats!" Everyone cheered raising their cups in unison with Sachi.

**ooo**

"So what are you going to do about your old guild house Futaro?" Sachi asked sitting on the opposite couch from him.

"Hmm… I guess we can bring all our furniture over here. I can sell the guild house for some cash so we can expand this one" Futaro said rubbing his chin. "I like this floor. It's nice and cozy. There aren't a lot of people either"

"Waaahh, I don't know how much I can thank you for helping me out" Sachi said showing her appreciation.

"Haha, don't sweat it. The only thing that matters is that we have a chance of becoming as strong as the KoB" Futaro looked around a bit. "This house is special to you isn't it?"

Sachi nodded. "This is the first time I've actually used it though. It's been sitting here collecting dust, so I figured it's a shame to let all this good space go to waste"

"Well you're lucky" Sakai said, "When we first got our guild house, I had to scourge the market searching for some good deals."

"Oh.." Sachi felt a little guilty.

"Don't worry!" Sakai said going to Sachi. "I'm glad that we're all one big happy guild now. Think of it as a house warming gift, a big one. And a Christmas gift too!"

"_Happy guild…"_ Those words echoed in Sachi's head. She hadn't given it much thought, but a guild was like a family. They lived under the same roof, they shared each other's problems and accomplishments, they ate together, and they had fun together. It was like the family she's never had. Just thinking that gave Sachi the assurance that Futaro's guild certainly didn't mind migrating. She gave a sigh of relief knowing that.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow guild leader?" Keshiga asked with intent listening. Keshiga always asked what they were going to do tomorrow. Ever since the beginning of this game, he's asked what they were going to do the next day.

"We're training" Sachi said poking Keshiga on the forehead. "Have you hit level 55 yet?" she asked him.

"Erm…" Keshiga gave a nervous smile and scratched the back of his head, "Nooooo…" he elongated.

"Then let's get to work first thing tomorrow." Sachi planted her hands on her hips. "Remember, the deadline is the first o f January" she waved a finger reminding Keshiga about Norie's level deadline.

"That's right…" Keshiga remembered. Norie would notify them when it was the first of January so they could party again. But under the circumstances now, Keshiga was pretty sure Norie would join their guild instead.

"Is everyone okay with training tomorrow?" Sachi asked. Everyone seemed to be fine with it. "Then it's settled. Sakai, are you guys going back to your guild house to get the furniture?"

"Mhm" Sakai replied putting her glasses back on, "Moto, Futaro, can you guys come and help me? I need two strong guys like you to help carry the stuff"

"Sure thing Sakai" Moto said readily getting up as Futaro and he followed Sakai out the door. To compensate for carrying heavier weapons and stuff, Moto and Futaro had to have higher strength and they also had higher ranks of Max Inventory Weight. As a person levels their strength, their max inventory weight goes up along with it enabling them to carry more and heavier items. But this is a rather moot point since Sakai's strength was rather high, and her max inventory weight was even higher than both Moto's and Futaro's for obvious reasons. So she didn't really need help, but having a friend nearby while working makes it fun.

"I need to sell the property anyway"

"Right, I'll make a quick stop at the market" Sachi said starting out the door. "Hana and the rest of you, please dust out the rest of the rooms and air out the sheets in the bedrooms."

"I'll go with you!" Keshiga replied catching up to her.

**ooo**

Was this the greatest Christmas gift Kirito has gotten in his life? To know that Sachi was alive and well, it was more of a Christmas Miracle to Kirito. Lying on his bed with his hands behind his head, he smiled. He still was shocked as it is. Six months of agony, only to be lifted on this very special day. "Sachi…" He muttered as his smile turned into laughter. He didn't know how else to react. His laugh slowly turned into crying, but happy crying. "Thank you…" he whispered digging his face into his pillow. "Thank you so much…" He didn't know who he was thanking. He was just thanking someone. He had already thanked Norie, but there was something higher than that, something that was pulling the strings of this world. Fate some might call it. Was he thanking fate? Who knows? Kirito didn't know himself. All he knew was that there was someone out there that had to be thanked.

**Author's Notes: I REALLY do not know how this chapter turned out. To be completely honest with you guys, I thought this chapter was rather lack luster compared to previously. This is because even though I LOVE reunions, I'm really bad with reunion scenes especially when it comes to writing. So sometimes it might be awkward with the sudden change of pace that I think is in this chapter. But then again, I could be wrong. All I can rely upon is the readers input. Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and insert your nit picking review down below :P**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 – Survival

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, December 31, 2023**

"Fifty-seven….fifty-eight…..fifty-nine…. HAPPY NEW YEAR!" The guild house of the New Black Cats of the Full Moon was rattled with loud cheers and hollers commemorating this very special day. Sachi, Sakai and Keshiga helped distribute boxes that resembled bento boxes. These boxes contained food that resembled the traditional Japanese food osechi ryouri. As everyone was eating up, Sachi brought out a tray of bowls that contained ozoni, a soup that had mochi as a main ingredient.

"Eat up everyone! You only get to eat like this once a year"

It's only been a couple of days since Futaro's Mercenaries disbanded and merged with the New Black Cats of the Full Moon, but it already seemed as if they've been together for a really long time. Of course, the old Futaro's Mercenaries transferred all their stuff to the new guild house, and Futaro sold the old property to provide some ample funds.

After stuffing a fish cake in her mouth, Sachi heard a light ringing noise over the loud chatter and laughter of her guild. A purple envelope was flashing at the top left of her view. There was a message from Norie for her. Hastily opening it, not forgetting about Norie's promise, she read what Norie had to say.

_Hello Sachi, it's been a long time hasn't it? Hopefully, you are doing well as a solo. I heard that you confronted Kirito at long last. I'm glad for you. He seemed happy. Well of course, who wouldn't be happy if a loved one turned out to not be dead? I hope Keshiga is doing well also, but who am I kidding, he's got his guild to back him up right? I've never met them, but I hope to see them soon. On another note, I heard you were making a guild. I'm on my way to your house right now. Of course, I have a late Christmas gift for both of you. Look forward to it._

As Sachi finished reading the message, a knock on the door was heard and Sachi went to get it.

"BWAAAAAHHHHHHH!" A voice screamed out right when Sachi opened the door.

"Eeeep!" Sachi cried out backing up a bit. It was an all too familiar mask. Everyone stopped their conversation to see what had made Sachi yelp like that.

"Hahahaha!" Two familiar voices burst out laughing. The ever so mischievous face of Ellen was behind the mask, and the smiling face of Norie was right behind her patting her head.

"Like I said, you're too easy to scare Sachi!" Ellen burst out holding her

"Ellen!" Sachi pouted puffing her cheeks, "I knew you would do something like this!"

"Haha! Actually, all this was my idea" Norie said wiping the tears from her eyes as she took the mask from Ellen. "So if you're going to squeeze someone's cheeks, it'll be mine"

Sachi moved closer to Norie raising her pinching fingers out towards Norie's cheeks. But suddenly, she turned to the face of Ellen, who was watching intently and squeezed them as hard as she could. Of course, it was a forced habit now.

"Owowowow!" Ellen whined loudly waving around. "Why me?!" she asked.

"Norie!" Keshiga called out greeting his old friend with much hospitality.

"Hey Keshiga!" Norie said wrapping an arm around his neck in a neck lock and giving a noogie to his loose brown hair. She sad, "Looks like you've been doing good" eventually releasing him.

"I've been great!" He replied rubbing the area that Norie's knuckles had caused so much friction to.

"Care to introduce yourself?" Futaro said with a cocky grin on his face.

"Any friend of Sachi's is a friend of ours!" Sakai elated with a bright smile clapping her hands together

Norie took her hat off and bowed slightly, "My name's Norie, and this little troublemaker here is Ellen"

"Norie!" Ellen whined

**Aincrad ? Floor, January 1, 2024**

A mysterious place for peculiar people. An empty room save for a single lamp, a small table, and three chairs with three ominously robed people, rang with a suspicious silence.

"Gentlemen" The one sitting in the middle of the other two said. "I would like to announce the creation of the Laughing Coffin a success."

"Yahoo!" The person on his right said. Under the hood of his cloak was a skull mask that covered his entire face. "Hey, PoH, what's our first target? Do you know? Do ya? Oh C'mon, you gotta tell me you know, please? Oohh just thinking about it makes my fingers jitter, it's like I just wanna jab my knife into something you know?"

"Ahh shut up XaXa" The guy on PoH's left said. His face was covered by a type of bag that had eye holes cut out.

"No you shut up Johnny Black!" XaXa retaliated as he got up, "You're too chicken to kill those players and you have me do the dirty work for you" he mocked.

"Hey! Without my freakin' poison you'd be screwed sitting in a dungeon cell by now" Johnny Black responded getting up and snarling faces with XaXa.

"Now you two" PoH said calmly motioning his hands for the two to sit down, "You wouldn't want to show off as rude to our new member do you?" he asked pointing towards the dark area in front of him. As he pointed, the slim figure of a tall man walked into the dim light. His face looked constantly stressed, but his eyes had a hint of insanity. His brown messed up hair seemed to move with his every step.

Just like the other three in the room, the cursor above his head was also red. "Tsurugi…" he said placing his arm horizontally across his stomach and the other along his back. He bowed. "It'd be a pleasure to be alongside you guys" A maniacal grin crept its' way across his face.

"Ohhh! I like this guy!" XaXa said throwing and catching his dagger up and about. "So do you like to kill slow? Or fast?" Just as he said fast, he threw a dagger right at Tsurugi.

"Depends on my mood" He said grabbing the dagger midair, twirling it with his fingers before holding the blade with the handle towards XaXa. "Heh…."

**ooo**

"Ah right, before I forget…" Norie said putting her bento box down on the dining table. Sachi and Keshiga looked to see what Norie was going to say next. "Your Christmas gifts" she said taking out an amulet and gauntlets. "Sachi, not sure if you have this piece yet, but I'm sure you'll like it either way." Sachi took the amulet and inspected it. The silver around the blue gemstone was shaped in a snowflake as the hexagonal gemstone gave an alluring blend of white and teal. Aqua amulet, she didn't have this part yet and equipped it with much admiration. The amulet was the 9th and final piece of her Aqua set. After long last, she had finally collected the entire set. Amulet, ring, and bracelet, those were the final three pieces that she needed. Looking at herself now, it really did look rather cute on her. There was also a rather large boost in her stats in terms of DEF, STR, and AGI, even for such a low level armor set.

"Keshiga, these gauntlets have good stats, so they should serve you well also" Norie turned and gave him a pair of scaled gloves that matched the rest of his armor very well.

"Thanks Norie!" Both of them said with smiles on their face.

"Speaking of gifts…" Sachi said gripping Norie's hands with hers, "We have to give you yours." She opened a menu and pressed a button, and then a menu popped up on Norie's menu that said:

_The New Black Cats of the Full Moon has invited you to join their guild, will you accept?_

_Yes/No_

"Will you join us Norie?" Sachi asked smiling.

"Yea, it's not the same without you you know" Keshiga added taking a big sip of his mochi soup.

"Well…. This wasn't what I had in mind when I said we would party up again," Norie said scratching her head. "And a guild invite is hardly a gift."

"Do it!" Ellen said. "I want to know what it feels like to be in a guild, besides, there's good food too!"

"Ack…okay you guys got me. I'm kind of stuck in a corner now aren't I?" Norie said pressing the yes button. "I don't usually join guilds, but I guess I'll make an exception for you guys"

"Welcome to the group!" Futaro said patting Norie on the back giving a rather drunken smile.

"We got a new member?" Moto asked lying on the couch with a bottle of wine in his hands. "That's great!" His voice was slurred just like Ellen would be. "C'mon guys! You're missing out on the best part of New Years!"

"Ahhhh!" Ellen said taking a huge swig from her bottle of wine, "Nothing spells New Years without drinking!" she said raising her bottle in cheers.

"You got that right!" Hana replied giving a loud whew! As she flopped back on the couch.

After a couple of hours of drinking and eating, Norie eventually got to know most of the members of the guild, their names at least. Then again, Norie was excellent with remembering names. Sachi, now standing in front of the fire place, tapped her chopsticks against her glass cup. "Everyone, now I know you guys are having a good time getting to know Norie and Ellen and all, but dawn is drawing close. You guys know what that means right?"

"Hatsumoude!"

"That's right! Now I picked a good spot on the 31st floor where we can go and see the sun rise." Sachi said opening a map and showing everyone. "We'll pack some food and drinks and head out in 10 minutes. Got it?"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"And don't drink anymore alcohol! We need you awake for when we see the sun!" She called out one last request as everyone dispersed to help pack up, Sachi sat back down next to Norie on the couch.

"You make a good leader you know" Norie said patting Ellens sleeping head.

"You think so?" Sachi asked scratching her cheek with slight embarrassment.

"Of course. I remember back then, you probably wouldn't have been able to speak in front of a crowd like that. But looking at you now, you've changed so much for the better. It makes me proud to have been there to support you." Norie said squeezing Sachi's cheek.

"Thanks Norie" Sachi replied rubbing her just squeezed cheek. Finishing off her tea, Sachi went to check on everyone to see if they were ready with the preparations. Some had blankets, others had pillows, Sakai handled the basket of food and Keshiga helped her by carrying the tea and drinks. "Are we ready?" Sachi asked putting her hands on her hips and giving a bright smile to her enthusiastic guild members.

**Aincrad 31****st**** Floor **

"There it is…." Sachi said pointing up at the hill from afar. It was rather high up, but not too steep to be a mountain. There was a very large oak tree overlooking the hill.

"C'mon Moto! I'll race you to the top!" Keshiga hollered out running towards the peak of the hill.

"Hey no fair! You started before me!" Moto darted after Keshiga. It seems that everyone had recovered from their drunk spirits during the early stages of the night.

"Wa-wait! Keshiga!" Sakai whined as she was carrying both a large picnic basket and a few pitchers of tea and drinks.

"Here I'll help you" Hana yanwed taking some loads off Sakai, "I don't know why you didn't just give them to me before"

"This is a great spot Sachi, where ever did you stumble upon a place like this?" Helen asked playing around with the blankets she was holding.

"Well, I kind of stumbled upon this place back when I was trying to complete a quest." Sachi started to say continuing to walk with the group up the hill. "Some of the NPC's in town were talking about this rumored hill. Legend says that upon this hill stood ancient warriors that fought to defend this hill with their lives. Their goal was to hold off until sunrise, but that day never came. So one of the NPC's, asked me to investigate a little more and find out what the ancient's were defending. So the quest directed me here. But I couldn't find anything, so I waited all night for something to happen. Nothing. Nothing happened." Sachi explained.

The group had made it to the peak of the hill and laid out their picnic preparations. Sitting down on the blanket and helping distribute the tea, Sachi glared up at the shining moon. Even though a complete moon wasn't shown, it looked as if a full moon was there. Sighing lightly before taking a long sip of her warm tea, she looked at her ever so cheerful guild mates. Everyone was chatting in low voices trying not to disturb the local nature. Keshiga was chatting with Norie; Sakai was eating snacks with Ellen. Moto, Futaro and Voleke were sitting around discussing styles of fighting and recent gossip around Aincrad. Helen and Jayson were sitting next to each other. It was obvious that something romantic had to come out of this whole experience. Hana was napping lightly against the tree. That just left Sachi sitting alone in the middle of this group. Smiling to herself, she rested her chin on the knees she wrapped her arms around.

**ooo**

About an hour passed since the group had settled upon the hill for the first sunrise of the New Year, and some people were already starting to doze off. It was only about 3:44 A.M according to the ALT (Aincrad Local Time). From what Sachi had heard, sunrise was around 5:56 A.M ALT. Her eyes were droopy and heavy with sleep. She was about to close her eyes before, out of the corner of her eye, a shiny object stuck out of ground shining with the moonlight. "Oh?" she asked herself bringing her hand forward to pick up the peculiar object. After a bit of digging with her fingers, Sachi had pulled a somewhat ominous golden medallion with a skull inscribed into it. This was new.

"What do you have there Sachi?" Norie asked crouching down to get a better look.

"I don't know" Sachi replied as she held the medallion up. "I didn't find this the first time I came here."

"Could it be worth anything?" Keshiga asked getting curious staring intently at the medallion.

"Let me check" Sachi replied tapping the medallion expecting a description or some stats of some sort. Instead of it saying "Equippable item" the description said "Quest Item" Instead. "What? I don't have any quests on this floor do I?" Sachi asked checking her quest log. She scrolled down to the label that said "Floor 31" and saw a quest called "Upon the Hill". It turns out that Sachi never abandoned the quest she was on.

Just at that moment, Ellen suddenly woke up from her shallow slumber.

"Ellen?" Sakai asked rather surprised by her sudden wake.

"I sense monsters nearby. A lot of them" she muttered urgently scrambling up and floating next to Norie.

Everyone toggled their Detection on and immediately scanned the area. There were no yellow cursors to be seen anywhere. Even Norie and Sachi, who had the highest levels of detection in the guild, couldn't see or hear anything out of the ordinary.

"What are you talking about Ellen? I don't see any monsters on radar. Could it just be your hangover?" Norie responded giving a feel for Ellen's head. "Are you sure you're not sick?"

"I'm fine" Ellen said swatting Norie's hand away, "No, it's not my hangover. I can sense monsters even if I'm as drunk as I possibly can be."

"Could it be related to this?" Sachi asked examining the medallion further. She held it by the brown worn string and let it turn freely. The medallion in Sachi's hands started to glow. As it glowed, it started emitting some sort of pulse that stretched as far as the bottom of the hill. Everyone started to gather around Sachi to take a better look. This continued for a while before it abruptly stopped.

"What was that?" Hana asked rather crankily as she muttered a word of complaint about her good nap.

"I don't know, but what I do know is that you never stop seeing cool things when you're in this gu…" Moto started to say before he was cut off by a low moaning of some kind. Everyone else looked around in a somewhat weary manner. "D-do you guys k-know what that was?" he asked with his arms shaking. The fog was lightly blowing out of his mouth as his warm exhaled air come into contact with the colder air.

The low moaning stopped for a moment and silence followed. "They stopped" Moto whispered before he took a few steps backward. Little did he know that a bunch of skeleton arms sprang out of the ground and latched themselves all over his body.

"Help! Help help! Someone help me! Sakai! Hana!" Moto cried out like a little kid as he tried his best to break free of the arms that were grabbing him in extremely "uncomfortable" places. It was a good thing none of the girls were in this predicament; it would be very uncomfortable indeed.

Then again, that is not to say that Moto wasn't going through enough of a tough time already. Hana went out and dashed forward to the rescue. Slashing downward to Moto's sides, she had sliced most of the arms that were holding him down. With each arm that her sword cut through, a blast of polygons followed shortly after.

"Help help!" Moto cried for help still before he opened his eyes realizing that he was freed. Opening his eyes, he muttered a phrase of embarrassment.

"They're here…" Ellen said pointing. As Ellen pointed, everyone turned on their Detection again and looked to see. It was a sight that was very intimidating. Flooding their line of sight was countless amounts of yellow cursors that were seeping through the forest below the hill. They weren't just coming from the general direction Ellen was pointing. Everywhere the guild looked, there were yellow cursors surrounding them that could strike a feeling of uneasiness in the hearts of even the strongest players in SAO.

Hana stared at the slowly advancing army of monsters with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as she slowly pulled her hat off.

"T-there's no way we can handle all that!" Moto said on the brink of despair, "It makes the Valley of Golems look like a playground!"

"How can we possibly fight all these…" Keshiga muttered hastily pulling out a teleportation crystal. "Teleport! Myugen!" he said. But nothing happened. "Teleport! Myugen!" he said again, but the same result.

"Anti-crystal field" Norie said "We have no choice but to fight"

"Are you insane?!" Futaro asked, "There's got to be at least two hundred of them." At that instance, the silhouettes of the monster army started forming slowly. Second by second, their forms were revealed. An army of skeletons armed with swords and shields continued to advance up the hill towards the small guild.

"Sachi, what do we do?" Sakai asked. Sachi turned her head to look Sakai in the eye with a serious intent. "Sachi?"

Sachi was silent for a moment holding the hilt of her sword in her hand. Opening up her menu, she checked her quest log. The description of the quest labeled "Upon the Hill" said:

Find the mysterious object on Survival Hill: Complete

Survive until Dawn: In Progress

Sachi said nothing as she closed her menu. She squeezed a bit and said "We fight"

"Fight?!" Most of the guild was rather shocked by her decision.

"If we run, we'll probably die. They're already surrounding us, so there's no possible escape route. There's an anti-crystal field also, so we can't escape by other means. There's no choice but to fight. Guys, our goal is to become as strong as the KoB right? And part of that goal includes being able to overcome any obstacle. We can't lose hope now. If we do, then what hope do we have about getting back to the real world? If we lose hope over something like this, then how do you think we will do on the higher floors? Find a way to escape when we clearly know there is none? No! We fight. No matter how impossible the fight seems, we fight until we can no longer! If we work together, we can survive" Sachi pointed the blade of her sword towards the advancing army of the undead with the golden medallion still in her free hand, "I'm going down to fight to complete this quest, who's with me?" she asked as the medallion disappeared into her temporary inventory.

At first there was no reply. Everyone was quiet in silent fear before one person broke the silence. Norie stepped forward and said "I am" while drawing her sword. One by one, everyone followed as they drew their weapons out pledging their service to their guild and leader.

Sachi smiled at their commitment. "Are we going to be as strong as the KoB someday?" she asked expecting a surge of enthusiasm.

Everyone hollered in agreement cheering and raising their weapons.

"Then prove you can! If we all survive until dawn, we'll all go down to the bar for a drink, on me!" Sachi hollered out in return raising her sword around at the surrounding army of undead.

**ooo**

The fighting was vicious and brutal, but the guild had a slight advantage as they were at the top of the hill. Things usually worked the same as they did with Futaro's mercenaries. It's just that they had some additional fighters who did their own things and they were immeasurably outnumbered. So that meant that they needed to take extra care since there could be enemies behind them also. Everyone was fighting furiously, but everyone was also under equipped. They all were dressed to go on a simple trip, not fighting legions of undead, so they left all their heavy equipment and armor back at the guild house storage except their weapons. Sachi made it a rule that the guild members keep their weapons on them at all times just in case.

It was a good thing Sakai kept her shield though. Since the zombies had little HP, she could just Shield Charge to her heart's desire. There are certain factors that contribute to how well this move works. If the enemy is smaller and has less, what they called "monster weight", then Sakai could Shield Charge through more and more enemies with ease. Take the skeletons for example; their "monster weight" is very low. This also has to do with their size and constitution, since they were more fragile, it's easier to charge through them. Now take that into comparison to a tree ent. It's very large and its "monster weight" is rather large just by judging from its size, so even a good shield charge wouldn't be able to make it budge. It's kind of like common sense, if you know what I mean.

Skeletons are known to be rather slow and low damaging. The only thing they can be recognizably noted for is their outnumbering army potential. Their slow and low damage attacks made it a sword slashing heaven for Hana. Over time, Hana had developed her own techniques of swordplay and used a combination of sword skills consecutively after one another as fast as her AGI would allow her to. In SAO, there is a short delay between sword skills that a person can use, that's how the Switch system came to be. Most people weren't fast enough to use multiple sword skills within such a short time span, so they often switched with another player to wait for their sword skills to be used again. This wasn't a problem for Hana, especially since she usually had Sakai to switch out with her. Her AGI was exceedingly high, so she had the ability to use multiple skills within a short time span. The reason as to why her AGI was so high lies within her equipment. All of her equipment is geared towards raising her AGI (and STR whenever possible) no matter what the DEF or level rating was on the equipment. Even if she had a level 1 glove, but it provided gratunimous amounts of AGI, it didn't matter to her as long as it gave her AGI. In Hana's little world of MMRPG's, speed was everything to her. She even used to have a catchphrase. "Bring out the speed" She muttered while brandishing her sword, she dashed forward for a downward Vertical instantly killing one zombie, then turning around delivering a flurry of Diagonals to kill the others that were trying to surround her.

Since it was a dangerous thing to do, Keshiga decided not to use his signature Leap in a fight like this. It would be suicide to jump into an army of skeletons for obvious reasons. You know what, never mind I said that, it was a rhetorical statement. Besides, he couldn't leave the group, or else that would leave a hole in their defensive ring. Everyone was lined up in a circle around the tree of some sort to minimize the amount of monsters that would be behind any one person at a time. Keshiga also didn't want to leave Sachi's side. He tried his best not to wander too far when he was fighting, and when he did find himself a bit farther away, he re-orientated himself. It was a weird feeling but, ever since that day Sachi kissed him on the cheek, he started to have some feelings for her. It was obvious to him that he had a crush on her, and he was sure Sachi knew he had a crush on her also. But this felt like more than a crush, it started to develop into a more of a loving kind of feeling. Pausing a moment to think about his relationship with Sachi, a skeleton jabbed a sword into his side.

"Ugh" he muttered striking the skeleton with the lower blade of his dual bladed spear. His HP bar dropped a little bit, estimated 5 percent or so, it would be even less if he had his armor on. As he recuperated from striking down on the zombie, half a dozen more zombies had struck him with their weapons managing to get a surround on him.

"Keshiga!" Sachi yelled coming to his aid. She slashed down the first two skeletons in front of him. Through the bursting polygons of the skeletons, for a split second, Keshiga's and Sachi's eyes met. Maybe this doesn't sound unusual, but at that particular moment in time when their eyes met, both Keshiga and Sachi had felt this sort of feeling they never really felt before. Keshiga couldn't describe it very well but his chest felt warm when he saw Sachi at that moment, "_Was it love?_" he asked himself silently. But moments like that always pass, and a second later, the moaning of a skeleton broke the delicate moment when two pair's eyes met, for that split second, and Keshiga was sent spiraling back into reality as he instantly reacted. He swung his lance back around to his right impaling a skeleton the head. He then swung around in the opposite direction getting rid of the other.

"Are you okay?" Sachi asked blocking a strike. At an instant, the rusty sword of the skeleton broke into pieces before it was sliced in two by Sachi's pale blue sword.

"Ah, I'm fine…" Keshiga mumbled loud enough for her to hear. "Thanks Sachi"

Sachi smiled, "Just returnin' the favor!" she winked reminding Keshiga about the time he came to rescue her out of a pinch like similar to this before quickly returning back to her post.

Keshiga smiled lightly at Sachi as she left. Fixing his eyes on her for a few moments, he wondered where their relationship might go, but that was cut short as legions of undead began swarming his ranks again. Quickly swinging his spear to bash against the face of a skeleton with the bottom blade, he fought on with a slight distraction in mind: The smiling face of Sachi. He had seen it so many times before but, this time around was a bit different.

This was completely not what Norie had in mind when she decided to join Sachi's guild on the first day of the New Year. Just a couple of hours ago they were sitting in the guild house eating and drinking, but now? They were up on an unfamiliar hill, on a mostly deserted floor, surrounded by an army of skeletons fighting for their lives. Then again, something good would come out of this if you looked at it in an optimistic view. It was really good farming time. The skeletons dropped about 250col per. Norie had estimated that she had slain about 200 so far, so according to her quick math, she had made around 5000 col so far. Not bad, not bad at all. That should be able to cover her day to day expenses for about 2-3 weeks. Well, not including the cost of keeping Ellen happy that is.

Parry was very useless in this battle since all the skeletons were slow enough for Norie to dodge efficiently, and whatever hits Norie did take she could just shrug off. She is level 62 at this point in time, so her HP pool was good.

"How are you holding up?" Ellen said from inside her glowing hilt. It was normal for Ellen to retreat into her sword if the time should arise. Sometimes, like during boss battles, she would stay out of the way like high above Norie. It's not like Ellen was an indestructible object or anything. She could take damage like any normal player; it's just that her damage is transmitted differently. If Ellen takes damage from a monster, depending on the degree of the damage, it would affect her effectiveness as a Spirit Weapon. Let's say Ellen were to take a blow that would kill any player, it wouldn't kill her, but the stats on the sword she accompanies would drastically go down for a set period of time until she can recover from it. Within that time, Ellen will actually have the symptoms of being sick, so she'll be feeling "under the weather".

"I've been worse" Norie said spinning around slicing three skeletons each with a slash, "I might be having some additional pocket cash after this, so I might get you a treat after we're done"

"Are you in a good mood Norie?" Ellen asked. It wasn't normal for Norie to give Ellen treats; usually she would have to beg for it and bug the crap out of Norie to get what she wanted.

"Somewhat"

**ooo**

What a fine little pinch she got herself into this time, while fighting; Sachi had found herself a little bit farther away from the group. So the skeletons had swarmed in both in front and behind her.

"_Stay calm Sachi, you've been through situations like this before."_ She thought to herself turning around back towards the direction of the group. Of course, in her path were skeletons that had their weapons raised. She started to dash towards them with her right shoulder leading the way. Not bothering with the hacks and slashes that phased through her body, she pushed her way through the first layer followed by an upper Vertical slicing one in half. After, she spun around swinging her sword in a circle to dispel the surrounding zombies. This was a technique that Sachi had invented called Charge Slash. It was an offensive maneuver that momentarily caught the enemy off guard by using your brute strength to jar their defense and buffer them for a split second without using a weapon. When the enemy sees you charging at them, they expect you to swing your sword at them, so they raise their sword in defense. Little do they know that Sachi rushes forward even faster and knocks the enemy back followed by an upward slash. This is a good opener that leads into other combo techniques such as Sonic Leap and etc. This also runs the risk of taking more damage than necessary because it leaves Sachi open for a couple of seconds.

"Ha!" she grunted dashing forward through the crowd of skeletons about 7 meters towards the direction of where everyone else was. Everyone else should be fighting around the top of the hill; Sachi's general location was about halfway down. This particular dash was another technique that she "invented". It's basically a beefed up version of Sonic Leap, but instead of stopping in front of the enemy, she stopped a bit of ways behind them and was able to strike through multiple enemies. She remembered the origins of this technique dated as far back as the Wolf Plains training day with Norie. It kind of became her signature skill. She liked its utility and speed, and she could use it consecutively to the limits that her AGI would allow her to, which was a maximum of three. She noticed that no matter how much she raised her AGI, the limit would not go up. Assuming that three was the max, she named this move Triple Slash. It was a good gap closer, and a good escape mechanism, especially in situations like this; though, it would be noticeably faster if she had her Aqua set equipped.

After two more dashes, Sachi was back with everyone else. After managing to find ample time between waves, she hastily opened her menu. Scanning the menu as fast as possible, she looked for the time. Remember that the quest said "Survive until Dawn", so checking the time was crucial to knowing how much longer the fighting was going to last. "5:20 ALT" it read. Only thirty-six minutes to go. "Is everyone still hanging on?" she shouted as loud as she could over the moaning and groaning of the army.

"Right here Sachi!" Keshiga said giving a thumbs up not too far away from Sachi.

"Everything's good here!" Ellen said waving at Sachi about 2 meters above the heads of the skeletons.

"Still holding on!" Sakai said smashing down one of the animated bones with her shield, "Hana's good also"

"Bring em on!" Futaro swung his axe around with much enthusiasm.

"You better watch where you're swinging that thing! You almost hit me!" Moto replied after ducking to avoid his axe, "Don't worry about us!"

"We had better get a good reward for this quest!" Jayson called out before pulling on Helen's collar to bring her back narrowly dodging an attack and allowing Voleke to hack it to bits.

Good, everyone was doing well. It was reassuring to know that this was a lower level floor, so each and every member had the capacity to one shot the skeletons. This fight seemed rather easy up until now. Since dawn was near, there was an exceedingly increasing amount of undead spawning. It was almost overwhelming, but amidst her fighting, Sachi noticed something strange. The ground was shaking occasionally. What was it? After using a Diagonal on a skeleton, she scanned the area. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the black outline of a large figure about 50 meters away from the top of the hill. That was another advantage to being on the high ground; you could see almost the entire army and what they have behind the front line. The large figure was advancing its way extremely fast, eventually; Sachi got a clear look of it. It was a huge skeleton clad with armor and armed with a huge spiked club. It stood about 20 meters high and the club was about 10. The faint letters were seen next to the HP bar, The Warden. It was charging straight towards the top of the hill flailing its blunt instrument around sending dozens of its fellow comrades flying around.

"What the…." Keshiga muttered as he lowered his lance, the zombies all suddenly stopped attacking and looked at something behind him. "What are they…. Waaaahhh!" The large figure of The Warden smashed its way through the zombie army and stomped right in front of Keshiga. The empty eye sockets of the skull stared blankly at Keshiga as the spiked club was swung downward. Acting quick, Keshiga jumped out of the way to his left closer to Sachi.

"What the hell is that?!" he asked picking himself up scanning the huge monster that almost squashed him.

"What in the world is going on?" Norie asked as everyone retreated back towards their guild leader. Norie called everyone back because she assumed that it was now very dangerous fighting apart.

"Norie what is that?" Ellen asked cowering behind Norie's shoulder

"It's the boss…" Hana brang her sword low as she leaned forward. It was a classic pose for her to prepare to dash forward.

"Hana wait, we need to take this thing on together." Sakai held her back while keeping a watchful eye. They needed to keep the zombie army at bay, but they also had to deal with The Warden. They couldn't separate into small groups again, or else each group would be overwhelmed with fighting a large boss and dozens of monsters around them.

"We have to split up into two groups. Sakai, Hana, Keshiga, Norie, and I will take on the boss. Futaro, Moto, Helen, Jayson, and Voleke, you guys try to keep the rest of the army away from us. We just need to hold off for a little bit longer, so don't do anything rash." Sachi started making battle plans as fast as she could. Each second they delayed, dozens more zombies would have a firm plant on the hill and they would be instantly flooded. Everyone agreed and split into their two groups. Hastily checking her time again, 5:26 ALT her clock said. Just half an hour left.

The boss was exceptionally strong for such a low floor. A downward swing with its club gave even Sakai a hard time trying not to get knocked back. If she was properly armed, she probably would have been able to resist, but dressed simply in a skirt and blouse, it was the best she could do. "Go, now!" she grunted trying her best to keep the club at bay against her shield.

"Roger that" Hana replied fixing her hat while dashing behind The Warden giving about half a dozen slashes to its back before it turned and forcibly swung its club around. Hana jumped upward trying to dodge the club, but she jumped too late and the club clipped her leg causing her to lose her balance midair.

"Sorry Hana!" Sakai cried out using Shield Charge to try to get the attention of The Warden again.

"I'll avenge you Hana!" Keshiga called out as he came crashing down impaling his lance into the back of The Warden's helmet piercing into it slightly. It was a relatively direct hit and brought its HP down quite a bit.

"No need for that!" Hana replied getting up. Considering Hana's fragileness, it was as hard as she would normally take. Her HP dropped about 15%, but usually when she takes a hit, it would drop around the 35% range instead. Pretty soon, she was back in action delivering lightning fast slashes on the leg of The Warden before rolling through the space between the legs to dodge its club. The thing to note about Hana is that she is possibly the fastest slashing sword user only second to Kirito. Though maybe not as strength driven as him, within a given time frame, the amount of slashes she invests brings her damage up to par. Of course, everything backfires in the form of being a glass cannon.

The Warden swung its club sideways catching Sakai off guard as she was sent flying in the other direction crashing into Norie. Keshiga was running towards it from the back getting ready for a Leap before it suddenly turned and swung its club smashing Keshiga against the tree. Immediately after, it pulled its club arm upward and swung down on Hana.

"Hana!" Sachi screamed as she pushed Hana out of the way holding The Fragarach upward to try to block the attack. The impact of the club felt like a train was slamming into Sachi; it was just felt so strong. Her parry skill wasn't that great either, but hopefully, it was just enough so that Sachi wouldn't be sent flying. After a splash of sparks and lights from the two weapons colliding with each other, Sachi still held on. She didn't know how, but she managed to push the club back just enough to relieve the pressure off her arms. Within a split second, The Warden swung downward again. Sachi stepped to the side narrowly dodging the hit and dashed forward streaming her sword across the spiked weapon that caused so much dust to fly about in the air. The goal was to cause as much damage to the club as possible, but judging by the look of it, it would take quite a bit of strikes to destroy a weapon this big. It wasn't overly decorated either, so the durability was very high. But strikes required time, and time was a bit short, so another plan had to be made. As she made it to The Wardens hand (within a second or two), she slashed downward once phasing her sword through the heavily armored hand. Now was the perfect time to jump on the arm and run up it. The Warden was open for a blow to the head, so Sachi took this opportunity to run up the arm. Once she made it to the shoulder, she jumped upward with her sword raised above her head holding her sword in reverse with both hands. With her armor pierce skill activating, she slammed downward smack right in the forehead of The Warden. She expected the killing blow, but she guessed wrong. At that moment, The Warden used its free hand to grab Sachi and fling her to the ground smashing her into the side of the hill. Sachi was still shocked by her blow not being the killing one. She was sure that her blow should have been the last. But thinking about that should be the last thing on her mind. By the time she had realized what had happened; The Warden had its club raised over its head again ready to swing downward on Sachi. She didn't have enough time to react to anything; she was halfway inside the hill at the moment. Successfully getting herself out of the hole that she had caused when she hit the hill would take at least 5 seconds. Right now, she had only about 3 to spare; so she expected the worst as The Warden swung downward. She closed her eyes in anticipation that the impact could potentially drop her HP down to 0.

"Clang!" There was a loud sound of two pieces of metal being forcibly pushed against each other. Sachi opened her eyes to see the figure of Norie stand with her back to Sachi blocking The Wardens attack.

"Norie!" Sachi said with contempt gladness.

"Fighting an entire army of zombies was the last thing I expected when I joined a guild" Norie grinned turning her head to profile to look at Sachi. Norie pushed the club back which gave Sakai the opportunity to give a well timed and aimed Shield Charge that would cause The Warden to get knocked back and stunned momentarily. "But I guess that's part of the contract eh?"

As Norie helped Sachi dig herself out of the ditch she had created from the impact, she asked, "I don't understand, why isn't it dying?"

"The quest instructions said to only to survive until dawn right?" Norie asked

Sachi nodded in reply dusting herself off quickly.

"But it says nothing about defeating a boss. So the HP of The Warden is basically infinite until dawn comes." Norie explained pointing at the HP bar of The Warden. She was right. The HP bar was completely empty, but yet, it still was standing.

It was still stunned, so everyone took this opportunity to further strike it down. Things were going well until it recovered, at this point; it went into a complete frenzy. Instead of aiming for any one person, it flailed its club around smashing it in random directions hoping that it might hit someone. This made it almost impossible for anyone to get close, and those that were close already were sent flying in all directions.

"The sudden change in battle patterns…. " Sachi said to herself, then she realized, dawn was only a couple of minutes away! But at the same time, The Warden was also closing in on her. Clashing Ellen with the club again, Norie was trying her best to buy some time. She pushed The Warden back and was about to counter attack before the giant armor clad skeleton used its arm to sweep Norie out of the way followed by a downward slash with its club.

Jumping back and up, Sachi landed on top of the club, but The Warden pulled up so suddenly that Sachi didn't have enough time to properly plant her feet and run up the arm like last time, The Warden learned from that. Instead, Sachi found herself clinging to the club holding onto the spikes as tightly as she can. Trying to get small girl off, The Warden swung the club around the air; it smashed the club against the tree. Sachi was almost caught between the spiky metal and the indestructible wood as a gust of wind and debris jarred her vision for a second. Then, The Warden pulled away from the tree swinging around in the opposite direction. The impact with the tree loosened Sachi's grip with the spikes, and the strength from The Warden's last swing managed to send Sachi flying into the air.

"Ahhh!" Sachi shrieked as she went up higher and higher. If it was one thing she still hasn't gotten the hang of, it's heights.

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out dropping his lance and running towards The Warden. The massive club dug into the ground, but Keshiga dodged and jumped upward kicking his feet on the upper arm of the monster. He then ran along the shoulder and used the head of The Warden to give him a boost. Kicking down as hard as he could, he pushed himself through the air and reached his arms out to try to catch Sachi. Her figure was getting closer and closer to him as she fell and fell.

Amidst her falling midair, Sachi felt an arm wrap around her back and on the back of her knee caps. She managed to open her eyes to the face of Keshiga, who had a big grin on his face.

"I thought you were scared of heights!" He said loudly against the loud blowing of the wind.

"I'm still working on it!" Sachi replied with a slight blush on her face as the gleam of the morning sun lighted their faces. They were falling midair, with Keshiga holding Sachi princess style. It was very embarrassing, especially to Sachi, but then again, she didn't mind at all. She simply smiled wrapping her arms around Keshiga's neck as they both kept their eyes on the beautiful first sunrise of the New Year. Seconds more of falling and eventually they both fell into the large tree upon the hill. Smacking into some branches, having leaves brush through their hair and having their clothes caught in twigs, they eventually dropped from the tree and smacked the ground with a light thud on the soft grass. Keshiga was lying on his back with Sachi right on top of him. Her knees were bent above his stomach area as she rubbed the back of her neck. After such a rough landing, Sachi and Keshiga looked at each other and laughed.

"Well look at what we have here, two love birds falling from the sky" Moto teased as everyone giggled at his comment. The entire guild was gathered around the tree at the top of the hill. Instead of getting embarrassed and scolding Moto, both Keshiga and Sachi laughed at his joke, it was partially true. After taking a breather and relaxing for a moment, Sachi scanned the area. The entire army of zombies was gone, leaving nothing behind. In large white blocky letters, the words "Quest Complete!" was read popping up in front of Sachi.

"Some first sunrise of the New Year huh?" Hana asked reclining near the tree with her hat over her eyes. The sun was rays were gleaming with gentle warmth amidst the chilly evening. At that moment, everyone realized that the fighting was over and flopped to their bottoms out of exhaustion. These two hours alone possibly contained more fighting than the entire first year they've been in this death game.

Some more snacks were brought that Sakai still had and everyone ate heartily as they sat together watching the sunrise. It was a symbol of hope that raised everyone's spirits, the hope to someday, escape this world.

**Authors Notes: Hey everyone! I hope you are enjoying my series so far. Now this chapter might seem like another SoL chapter, but I wanted this chapter to kind of develop the characters a bit more. Also, the Laughing Coffin appearance is very important for a later story. **

**Remember, feedback is always wanted and greatly appreciated! Even if you have something negative to say, just blurt it out! It won't make me respect you less. Also, I've noticed that my writing seems to get more and more…not sure how to describe it but… kind of like:**

**She said, he said, they did, they went, etc. etc. **

**It feels like I'm writing a 3****rd**** grade story or something! I'm not the best writer out there, nor do I even specialize with English of any sort (It's my primary language, but I don't normally write stories. I just pay peculiar attention to my grammar) so any tips and advice from you experienced story writers would help me so much!**

**Thanks guys! More chapters to come!**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16- The Space between Death and the Afterlife

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, January 3,2024 **

**Author's Notes: Possibly the longest chapter I will ever write. **

"Mnnnhhhh" Sachi moaned as she rolled around in her sleep. Her body was still aching from all the fighting they did on the 1st. Then again, everyone in the guild was trying to take it easy for a couple of days. After rolling around a couple of times, she heard a light knocking on her door. "_Who could that be at this time of day…." _she wondered to herself ignoring the knocks turning to her left side away from the door. Then suddenly, it opened with a loud slam.

"Oh jeez!" Sachi yelped as she shot straight up still hugging her pillow. Her hair was on the fritz as it curled and stuck up in random places all over. "Whadda ya want?" she asked with a half-asleep and slightly slurred tone.

"Wake up sleepy head! We got a floor to clear!" Norie's ever so cheerful voice sounded. "C'mon, get dressed. We'll eat some breakfast and the four of us will head to the meeting spot at 10."

"Mmmh okay…" Sachi muttered flopping back down on her bed with her arms out stretched. "Wait…. The four of us?" she asked pulling herself back up and rubbing her eyes.

"Yea, me, Ellen, you, and Keshiga" Norie said opening the curtains to let some sunshine in.

"Keshiga?" Sachi expressed her surprise by leaning forward closer with a keen interest.

"Uh huh!" Ellen said lying on Sachi's bed on her stomach while kicking her feet and resting her chin on her hands. "The folks at the meeting told us to send only the top three leveled members of each guild in order to reduce potential casualties. So according to the guild records, you, Norie, and Keshiga are the highest leveled as of yet."

"Not saying that the rest of the guild isn't as good as us" Norie added planting her hands on her hips, "It's just that we're the safest bet that the clearing party's got at the moment. Now hurry up, Sakai and Irina made breakfast for us "

"Okay okay" Sachi replied as she opened her menu. She then equipped all 9 pieces of her Aqua Set and spread her sheets nice and tidy.

"_That Irina…_" Sachi chuckled to herself. Irina had just joined the guild yesterday. The reason for such a late response was because she was quite busy running some errands and couldn't answer it right away. Then when she finished, she had completely forgotten about it until she actually checked her inbox, which was only yesterday.

Sniffing the air as she trodded her way into the dining room, Sachi was greeted by the delicious smell of fried eggs and toast. "Where's Futaro and Hana?" she asked noticing that the two weren't at the table.

"Futaro's tending to his shop, and Hana went to go meet a property owner." Sakai butted in as she slid two eggs and a piece of golden brown toast onto Sachi's plate. As it turns out, Futaro and Hana took upon a merchanting and tailoring respectively. Usually, each member of the guild has plenty of free time between leveling periods, so taking upon a hobby and getting some money out of it helped the entire guild as a whole.

Sachi expressed her gratitude as she took an indulging bite into her meal. Delicious as usual. It was a thing to note that Sakai's cooking was top notch.

"Hurry up Sachi! We gotta get there soon!" Keshiga urged shaking Sachi lightly. He was actually getting really antsy and couldn't stand still.

"The meetings in half an hour, we have plenty of time" Ellen bit into her jam overflowing toast.

"No we don't. It'll probably take us about 10 minutes to get to the transfer gate at this rate" Norie said wiping the jam off Ellen's face. "Now let's go, we have a floor to clear" she motioned as Sachi hastily scarfed down the rest of her eggs.

"Goodbye!" Sakai waved as she sent them off.

"Don't get yourself killed!" Moto said

"Get some rare items for us okay?" Irina joked.

"Good luck!" Helen waved as Jayson and Voleke did the same.

**Aincrad 50****th**** Floor, Algade**

"Alright, the designated meeting place is right in front of the labyrinth. Everyone should be there" Norie said opening the instant messaging system that was linked her with Asuna. "Asuna?"

"What do you need Norie?" Asuna's voice sounded.

"Yea, we'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Roger, the rest of the party is already here waiting for you. Asuna out" her voice said before the window closed.

Closing her messaging menu and opening her map, Norie led the way out of Myugen and towards the large tower overlooking the entire floor.

"Do you have any clue about what this boss is like Norie?" Keshiga asked double checking his equipment and doing some last minute experiments with certain equipment combinations.

"Actually, I do. Thanks to the information brokers and the scouting parties, we have some general info about what we're up against." Norie began explaining as she opened her monster info menu. "According to what Argo released, the boss for the 50th Floor, also known as The Asura, is a large six handed metallic statue of Buddha. Its attacks are strong and swoop over a large range, so stay on the alert."

The small group traversed their way through the rocky quarry passage and back into the thick forest. Eventually, they made it into a rocky mountain clearing where a midsized group of about 25 players gathered, 28 with the inclusion of them.

"They're here!" Someone called out as the members turned around to greet the last party.

Keshiga recognized only Kirito, but there was one person that caught his attention. His face shone with a bronze complexion while his armor glimmered with majestic red beauty. His sword and shield looked as if they were made to strike down any monster as his face remained calm compared to the worried faces of some players around him. It was him. The Strongest Man, The Living Legend, The Paladin, and et cetera— The leader of the Knights of the Blood had so many titles that you couldn't count them with your hands. It was Heathcliff. Keshiga almost burst out of excitement to seeing his idol in person. You see, Heathcliff was the person Keshiga looked up to the most. If it was one thing to motivate him, it was the desire to stand toe to toe with the leader of the KoB someday.

"Norie, it is good to see you are assisting us yet again." Heathcliff said as he approached them.

"Ah, always glad to help Heathcliff" Norie said bowing slightly as she introduced her small party, "This is my guild leader, Sachi. And this is Keshiga"

As Norie introduced them, Sachi scanned the area for a familiar face. There were two, Kirito and Asuna. Asuna looked rather glad that she was able to join while Kirito had a rather nervous smile on his face. She chuckled lightly; she knew Kirito was in fact, extremely worried about her. Waving at him with a warm smile, she conveyed to him that she would be alright.

"Ah, so this is the leader of the New Black Cats of the Full Moon" Heathcliff said, "It would be my pleasure to fight alongside you. I have heard some things about you from Norie. "

"Ah! No! The pleasure would be m-mine!" Sachi replied nervously as she bowed in respect, "To fight alongside the leader of a guild ours aspires to be, would be the greatest honor."

"You flatter me" Heathcliff stood in front of Sachi placing both hands on his legendary tower shield, The Liberator. Scanning the girl's appearance and equipment, he noticed the bladeless hilt latched to her side and was instantly interested. Of course, as his [SPOILER]true identity as the creator of this game[SPOILER], he knew every Unique Skill and how to obtain it. Standing before him, was one of the greatest fruits of his labor, the Lightsaber. "It is, in fact reassuring to see another Unique Skill user" He grinned pointing at the Unique Weapon clipped to Sachi's belt.

When the entire party heard these words come out of his mouth, they all were extremely shocked by this information, especially Kirito and Asuna; on the other hand, Norie and Keshiga weren't too bothered at all.

"She's the second Unique Skill user?" Someone whispered

"Such a lucky person!" Another muttered

"I thought Heathcliff was the only one!"

"U-unique skill?!" Asuna asked with a speechless voice.

"S-Sachi…" Kirito muttered under his breath. It was clear that Kirito was extremely unsettled by this. Only a couple of months ago, probably in October or November, Kirito had found the Unique Skill called Dual Blades in his skill menu. He didn't know how he got it, but it was just sitting there.

Rumors had already started spreading like wildfire, but Heathcliff held his arm out with his back to the Clearing Party. "We cannot keep this contained for long, but this is to remain as confidential as possible for the time being. If anyone is caught spreading information about this to the brokers, disciplinary action will be instigated. " His commandeering voice struck a wave of obedience into the hearts of the party members as they all immediately stopped talking. Heathcliff knew that they would spread the information anyway; it was inevitable.

Clearing his throat, he continued, "Yes. The Lightsaber, a Unique Skill that is given to the one who wishes to seek the truth, but dies as a result"

"_Dies as a result"_ That phrase had stuck into Kirito's mind.

"…_help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting, the importance of why I am still alive today, but cannot tell you this in person. That is my wish."_

"Wish…." Kirito muttered to himself still staring at Sachi. Ah yes, Sachi seeks the truth behind the world Aincrad, but she died as a result. So Sachi being revived, was it a mere coincidence? Or was it fate controlling her?

"But the skill is useless if the user is dead correct? The only way to put it to use is to have the user revived from that Rare Item" Heathcliff questioned giving a, not really menacing or sinister smile, but a subtle, rather glad smile.

"You are correct" Sachi replied glaring into Heathcliff's brass colored eyes that were brimming with overwhelming intensity and energy. "What is your goal?"

Heathcliff silently gripped the cross-shaped handle of his sword, which was sheathed inside his shield. Pulling it out with a searing "Shhhhnnngggg" ripping through the echoing delicacy of the trees, he pointed the tip towards Sachi as he pulled his shield up.

"A duel" He said with all seriousness.

Gasps and whispers were heard from all over. Norie grimaced at the two words as Keshiga muttered a startled "Whhhhatt?!"

Kirito's pupils dilated, his eyes grew wider as he realized what was going to happen.

"What? A duel? Why? We have to clear the floor right? Wouldn't this duel delay us?" Sachi asked with surprise as she gripped her sheathed handle.

"To see if you are worthy of possessing such a powerful asset. Don't worry, this duel will not take more than a couple of minutes" The man of legends replied jabbing his sword into the ground as he opened his menu. Navigating a bit, the words:

_Heathcliff has initiated a duel with you_

_Will you accept?_

_Yes/No_

"Sachi! Don't do it!" Kirito yelled out in desperation. She stood no chance against him through the eyes of Kirito, but little did he know how much Sachi's combat abilities have grown since the last time he saw her fight, which was on the day she "died". His instinct of protecting her had took root as he tried his best to convince her out of it even though he knew himself that the duel won't result in one's death unless the settings had allowed it to.

"I'll be fine!" Sachi called back at Kirito trying to calm his restless soul. Pulling her hilt out in front of her, she gripped it tighter producing that ever so familiar pale blue blade that had served her all these months. With a light hiss as it came out, onlookers had muttered and gasped phrases of astonishment.

"Now that's cool!" One said

"I wonder how much it's worth…" Another whispered

"Doesn't that remind you of Star Wars?" One asked.

Despite the side comments, Sachi stood focused as she pressed "Yes" and the countdown menu had popped up between them. Heathcliff and Sachi backed up a bit to allow some space as everyone circled around them trying to get a good view of the event.

"Do you think she'll do well?" Ellen asked sitting atop of Norie's shoulders.

"I'm not sure…" Norie said with a nervous expression on her face, "She's up against possibly the strongest player in SAO at the moment. But I trust in her abilities to at least give a good fight. After all, I taught her most of the stuff she knows" she said giving a slight hint of bragging at the last sentence as she pointed at herself with her thumb.

"All we can do is to cheer her on right?" Keshiga asked giving a smile at Norie and Sachi to try to brighten their moods.

Norie stared at him for a moment before grinning back, "Ah, you're right. Sachi!" she called out.

Sachi looked back to see Norie calling her.

"Trust in yourself! Remember that!"

Nodding with a smile back at Norie, she turned to her opponent and held her sword out with confidence entering a battle stance. Heathcliff did the same raising his shield up.

"_Trust in yourself. It's the key to becoming stronger" _The inspirational phrase echoed in her head as the timer counted down.

"_3…"_

"_2…"_

"_1…"_

The "1" rang in Sachi's head a split second as the images of her deceased friends flashed in her head all within the 1 second between the final countdown and the words saying "Duel!" had popped up. Just like the countdown before the Nervegear would fry your brain. It bothered her for a few moments before she quickly shook it off.

As soon as the menu popped up, Heathcliff kicked off with Sachi doing the same.

"I can't watch…" Kirito thought to himself shutting his eyes right as they started dashing towards each other. He expected a loud cheering towards Heathcliff's victory along with the end duel message sounding in his ears, but it never happened. He waited a couple of seconds with his eyelids covering his pupils and heard the loud clash of two pieces of metal being bashed against each other. Opening his eyes, he saw the small figure of Sachi staring at the towering figure of Heathcliff as their blades were locked, sending golden sparks flying around with each struggle for dominance. "Wow" he muttered in amazement.

It was clear Sachi was struggling immensely against Heathcliff's sheer strength. It was like pushing her blade against a wall. Eventually losing the blade lock, Heathcliff managed to push her back as he followed forward using Shield Charge. Thinking quick, Sachi dashed to her left going along his sword arm.

"What is she doing?!" Kirito asked with his heart beating in his throat. Sachi was running into a defeat if she trudged along Heathcliff's sword arm. It would have been a good idea to run along his right where his shield arm would minimize the damage taken.

Heathcliff slashed a Horizontal as Sachi blocked and repelled his sword with a downward Diagonal to her left.

"She's open!" Asuna cried out as both she and Kirito held their breaths and braced for the hit.

The thin cross shaped sword of Heathcliff's made bright spark as it was repelled by Sachi's Fragarach. Bringing it back upward for a Vertical this time, he swung downward on the now defenseless Sachi. At that exact moment, Sachi pushed herself forward as the whizzing sound of a sword skill activating echoed. Sachi couldn't ram her shoulder into a shield; the force to push against it was just too high.

"Haaaaaaaa!" Sachi screamed as she used Charge Slash. This caught Heathcliff totally off guard as Sachi rammed into him causing him to fallback a couple of steps.

"_A minor setback"_ He thought to himself, but little did he know that Sachi had followed up with her little shoulder charge as she used Uppercut. Reacting a fraction of a second too slow, Heathcliff had been inflicted with a light red line across his torso barely scathing his chin. His HP dropped a few ticks from the initial slash, and a little bit more from the chin scathe. Blows to the head dealt much more damage than regular attacks. It was relatively light, not because Sachi couldn't penetrate through the armor, but more of she wasn't able to cut deeper because of her smaller limbs.

People in the party started whispering and gossiping about how Sachi managed to give a scratch to Heathcliff.

"Hmph" Heathcliff grunted jumping back a couple of steps brandishing his sword. "Impressive. It seems that I have underestimated your ability"

"That's because I taught her how to fight!" Norie interrupted from the audience giving Kirito a quick glance and wink.

"_Hey now, don't forget about me"_ Kirito thought to himself giving a sigh of relief followed by a chuckle. He taught Sachi how to use a sword after all; Norie just reinforced it. It calmed Kirito to know that Sachi actually had a chance in standing up against Heathcliff. Shaking his rooted concern for her safety, "Sachi! Do your best!" he cheered as loud as the voice system would allow him.

Looking back at the cheering voice of Kirito, she grinned, winked, and gave a thumbs up with her free hand. "I told you I'll be fine" she said. Turning her attention again back at Heathcliff, she raised her sword. This time, she took the offensive and darted towards Heathcliff, jumped upward and fell down delivering a downward Vertical. This was promptly blocked by Heathcliff's massive tower shield as bright sparks sprang through the air upon impact. He pushed Sachi back and followed up with another Horizontal. Blocking seamlessly, Sachi lunged forward for a stab only to abruptly blocked by his shield. Heathcliff took the opportunity to jab his own sword at Sachi impaling her stomach.

"Gah" Sachi moaned as her eyes widened by her mishap. Heathcliff pulled his sword out followed by a hard bash with his shield that sent Sachi flying about 5 meters hitting the ground with a loud thud. The HP bar at the top right of her screen dropped about 35 percent.

"Oh no…" Asuna muttered. Oh no indeed, it was good to know that Sachi didn't crumble during the first 10 seconds, but even so much as a gash on the arm might cause her to drop to 50 percent and therefore lose the duel.

"Ahaha, that was my fault" Sachi said rubbing her stomach area while kneeling on one knee. "But I'm not out yet!" she muttered dashing forward and used the first sequence of Triple Slash. Heathcliff blocked the first slash with his shield; he heard the clang, but he saw no one in front of him. This was Sachi's opportunity; she dashed forward readying a downward Vertical squarely aimed for Heathcliff's head. Just when the hit was upon him, time felt as if it froze in Sachi's eyes. She didn't know if it was a bug or glitch of some sort, or whether it was just a mistiming on her part but, inches away from slashing her opponent, he had somehow reacted fast enough to bring his sword around and block her slash deflecting it to the side. Strangely enough, no one noticed this as everyone was too occupied with excitement at Sachi's decisive move.

"What was…." Sachi muttered quickly to herself as she skidded to a halt behind Heathcliff leaving a trail of dust from the loose dirt on the floor. "That?" she finished before dashing as fast as she could with her sword sticking out for one final attempt to stay in this duel. She knew she was going to lose anyway, but let's at least give a good show.

"It's now or never!" She muttered as Heathcliff turned around to obviously block her stab with his shield. Her sword and his shield clashed as sparks flew like never before. Sachi pushed through as hard as she could against the seemingly unbreakable will of Heathcliff. Even though all was hopeless and she was open for any attack Heathcliff had wished, she still had to keep trying.

Heathcliff smiled at her determination, but he knew it was futile, or at least he thought it was futile. Through his cockiness, he didn't notice that there was a small blue light that pierced from the back of his shield bit by bit getting bigger as Sachi pushed onward. What tipped him off was the sight of his HP dropping slowly. Looking down, his eyes widened with surprise. Sachi's sword had somehow pierced its' way through his shield and she had managed to stab him shallowly in the stomach area. Grunting to himself, he pushed his shield away from himself as he buffered Sachi. His sword slashed through her open torso as he followed up with one single charge with his shield that hit Sachi with such force that it caused her to fly in the opposite direction and into the crowd. Immediately following this was the Duel results screen, which was pointed towards Heathcliff declaring him the winner.

"Ugh…" Sachi moaned with her eyes shut and her body still trembling from the immense shockwave that just hit her. She managed to get up to a sitting position as she rubbed her head.

"_What was that?"_ She asked herself. Sachi was so sure that victory was upon her if she had at least managed to hit, but _that_ back there, what was it? She didn't know. She simply shrugged to herself as she felt something wiggle lightly from under.

"My goodness! Kirito, are you okay?" Asuna asked knelt down besides Sachi with great concern in her voice.

"Kirito?" Sachi asked looking behind her. It turns out that Kirito was coincidentally in Sachi's flying path when Heathcliff had smashed her with his shield. So she was sitting on top of him as he was lying down on his stomach with swirls in his eyes. "Eh? Kirito, I'm so sorry!" she reacted as she immediately got of him so that Asuna can help him up.

"Ah, It's completely okay" Kirito said rubbing the back of his head as he managed to clear his head. "But are you sure you're okay Sachi?"

"Oh, haha, I'll be fine. Though, I landed harder than I thought." Sachi chuckled taking a look at her HP bar. It was right smack at 50 percent, a nice solid yellow color. Taking a homebrewed HP potion, she took a sip and her HP healed about 10 percent each sip she took. It wasn't as potent as the other potions that the NPC sold, but she didn't really like the sour lemon juice taste, so she added a hint of sweet strawberry to lighten out that sour. Sachi didn't really like anything sour in general. It kind of made her mouth dry afterward.

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out as Norie, Ellen and he caught up to check on her status, "Are you hurt?"

"Not anymore" Ellen noted as she pointed to the now full HP bar of Sachi's.

"It seems that I have underestimated your abilities yet again" Heathcliff said as he approached Sachi again with his sword sheathed back into his shield, "Sorry for the rough hit"

"I'm fine, it was an honor to duel you" Sachi replied sheathing her hilt and bowing.

Heathcliff nodded in reply as he signaled for the party to begin moving out into The Labyrinth. As he started to move along with the party, he turned and said, "Sachi-san that is a powerful asset you have, being able to pierce my shield and all. I'm sure you will be a great aid to the Clearing Party" Before turning around and entering the large tower.

"Thank you" Sachi replied as Heathcliff's large figure disappeared into the shadows of the room.

The only people left standing outside The Labyrinth were Sachi, Keshiga, Norie, Ellen, Kirito, and Asuna.

"That was a good fight Sachi" Kirito commented patting Sachi's head softly with a joyous smile on his face.

"I told you already, I was fine" Sachi replied in a gleeful tone with a smile of her own.

"Sachi…." Asuna approached gravely," You never told us that you were a Unique Skill user" Asuna was still rather shocked about it. Same with Kirito.

"That's right, when did you discover it?" Kirito asked brushing his hand through his scruffy black hair. A half concerned half confused look was on his face.

"Mmmmhh" Sachi mumbled as she crossed her arms trying to recall as to when she discovered the Unique Skill she had possessed called Lightsaber Mastery. "When was it…. Ah! Back in November" she exclaimed as she pointed her index finger up.

"November?" Kirito asked tilting his head a bit. November was around the same time he himself had attained his Unique Skill called Dual Blades. Coincidence maybe? Who knows. But how did she attain it? That's right; the user must die before attaining this skill. But dead men tell no tales. Sachi's revival is the cause of her attaining a Unique Skill.

"Yes November, is there something wrong Kirito?" Sachi asked leaning forward a bit with her hands behind her back.

"Nothing" He replied sighing a bit tilting his head even further to his left.

"Well, if we have nothing else to say, I think we should get a move on and catch up with the rest of the party" Asuna said taking Kirito's hand and leading him towards The Labyrinth.

"W-wait, Asuna!" Kirito wined as he scrambled to keep up with Asuna's superiorly high AGI.

"We should go too!" Keshiga started running energetically towards the entrance.

"Hey! Wait for us!" Ellen called out from behind before chasing after him with Sachi close to her.

Norie sighed as she rubbed her temple. "What am I going to do with those three?" she joked as she started following everyone else.

**ooo**

Eventually, Sachi's group had caught up with the rest of the party as they cleared their way through mobs of monsters to reach the boss room. It wasn't too far from here. Only a couple more monster packs and they were home clear. Monsters in this area were statues that had four arms under the name, The Stone Guardians. They held basic weapons such as swords and axes, and sometimes dual wielded them. Though, the Clearing Party swept through them very quickly, the goal wasn't to train on these minions, the goal was to reach the boss room and complete the floor.

"Okay. Everyone, take a rest before entering the boss room." Heathcliff ordered as he sheathed his sword. Everyone took this time to sit down, chat a bit, or eat a snack to try to quench their uneasiness.

Asuna had packed some sandwiches and shared some with Sachi and their little circle of party members. Taking a bite, she paused a moment to savor all the intricate flavors that had entered her mouth.

"Wow! I wonder if Sakai can cook something like this!" Keshiga exclaimed as he scarfed down the sandwich.

"This does it Asuna, how much time do you devote to cooking?" Norie asked staring intently at the magnificent gourmet quality meal in front of her.

Asuna was very flattered, "Well, I spend all day cooking if we're not working on a leveling quota at the moment. "She said taking a bite into her own creation. No one took more pleasure into eating a meal than the creator, unless you know Kirito of course.

"Mmmh~" Ellen was probably enjoying this the most out of everyone. She was in extreme competition with Kirito in terms of who loved Asuna's cooking. Like seriously, Ellen was practically in tears of joy. "It's as if I died and went to heaven" she said.

Those words stung Norie like a hornet as she gagged on a piece of meat she was chewing. Shaking away everyone's concern saying that she was fine, she rubbed her sore throat through the coughing. "_Ellen…. I wonder what you're doing in heaven right now"_ She thought to herself looking up at the black empty roof of the Labyrinth. Bringing her eyes down staring at her sandwich sadly, she reminisced about her deceased sister, Ellen, who died from cancer. Looking at the Spirit Ellen, her heart ached. She knew it all had to end someday. Someday, someone will clear the game of SAO, and on that day, Norie must depart with her sister again. It pained her greatly to think about this as a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Norie?" Ellen asked wiping the tear on Norie's cheek, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, nothing. There's just something in my eye" Norie replied sniffing her nose and rubbing her eye.

"What level is your Cooking by the way Asuna?" Sachi asked neatly folding her napkin and placing it back in the picnic basket.

"I hit 756 Yesterday" Asuna replied with an elated smile.

"Really?" Keshiga asked with much enthusiasm. "It must get really boring huh"

"Oh please, don't get me started. They oversimplified cooking in SAO…" Asuna started to ramble on as Keshiga was all ears.

Kirito was silent as he zoned in on all the conversations at once, not really picking up anything. Then the voice of Heathcliff sounded as everyone quieted down to listen to instructions. "Breaks over everyone. Prepare your gear one last time before we enter." The air became heavy with uneasiness as everyone started to become nervous again about the upcoming boss fight. Heathcliff gave the order and everyone gathered around the two large doors.

"Remember your positions!" Heathcliff said pulling his sword out. Sachi's heart was pacing faster and faster as she placed her hand over it swallowing lightly. Kirito took notice of this and placed a hand on her head.

"You're not scared are you?" Kirito asked.

"A little" Sachi replied pinching her fingers together, "But I'll be fine knowing that Kirito-kun is fighting with us" she smiled.

"Hey now, don't forget about us Sachi" Norie butted in grinning as she drew her glowing cutlass.

"Yeah!" Keshiga hollered raising his spear up with enthusiasm.

"Sachi…." Kirito said pulling his large silver blade out, "Alright then, let's take this boss down together"

**ooo**

The large doors opened as the party advanced slowly into it. The defense was in front, Norie was in that group also for remarkable parry skills. The lancers were behind them and the sword users were last. When the boss attacked, the defense would soak up the damage, and then switch out with the lancers and swords. After the boss recuperated, they would just rinse and repeat. Too bad that it doesn't always go that smoothly.

Battle patterns of bosses and monsters alike will almost always change depending on the how much HP they have left. Think of it as not going down without a fight.

The metallic surface of seated Buddha statue shined with the brick red glow of the flames hanging from the pillars that encircled the round room.

"Hey! It only has two arms!" A member pointed out. It was true, there were only two arms "visible", and they were chained to the ground as it folded them prayer style with the fingers straight.

"Maybe the information brokers were inaccurate" Another said.

"Who cares! This'll be a much easier fight from now on!" Someone else replied getting extremely cocky. At that moment, coming from behind the large statue were four arms. All of them were chained up as the light shackle of the chains echoed through the hollow room.

"I think you spoke to soon…"

Within moments, The Asura stood up about 7 meters high as the chains kept its arms down. It moaned greatly as it broke free from its restraints pulling up two metallic swords, which were crescent shaped at the ends; they were planted on the ground one on each side of it. The eyes of the boss were closed as its lips were sealed shut. It gave a threatening roar before it started charging towards the Clearing Party. The screeching sound of its two swords sliced through the air as it brought them up and slashed downward crashing into the shields (and blade) of the front line. The defense team consisted of 10 members, nine of which were shield users and the last was Norie. She seemed out of place, but Norie's defensive capabilities do match up with the shields.

The lancers consisted of 7 spear users including Keshiga. They were the ones that would usually go in after the defense soaked up the initial hits. Then they would also soak up some damage and pave the way for the sword users. The sword users consisted of 11 members which were the core damage of the party. They could deliver more attacks within a given time than lancers and were generally swifter.

The loud clang of metal was heard followed by the loud grunting and screaming of some members of the defense team. The impact of the swords was much stronger than anticipated as three players with shields were sent flying through the air.

"Everyone charge while we have its attention!" Norie yelled as she engaged in a blade lock with one of The Asura's giant swords.

Within hearing that, most of the rest of the party had charged forward surrounding the boss and slashing at the legs and switching out from lancers to sword users, then repeat until the boss had a change in battle patterns.

It jabbed the two swords down into the ground to its sides causing temporary displacement of the attacking party as they scrambled around trying to dodge. Giving a louder moan this time, the two crescent blades swung downward onto the defense party as Heathcliff blocked both strikes and deflected the blades. Using this opening, he jumped forward and lunged his sword into the chest of The Asura giving off an ear screeching clang before orange sparks flew around. To Heathcliff's surprise, his sword was shrugged off as if it actually did just hit a piece of metal. Recovering from the deflection, The Asura swung to the side as Heathcliff blocked. The shockwave from the attack pushed Heathcliff back onto the floor as he held kept one of the swords at bay with his shield.

The HP of the boss only dropped a little tick. This thing had monstrous defense which came in the form of its reinforced metallic appearance.

Managing to get behind it, Keshiga used Leap to jump upward and delivered a downward blow to its lower neck. The tip of his spear met the metal alloy as it caused a tremor of force that pulsed through Keshiga's arms. He stood there for a few seconds with his spear still slightly impaled into the The Asura as its left arm crept up behind Keshiga and quickly grabbed him. Bringing the player to the front to get a better look of him, The Asura stared at Keshiga's trembling face with its closed eyes. It swung its arm throwing Keshiga over to the right crashing into other players.

Stabbing its left blade into the ground, causing a few defense party members to lose balance, it swung its right blade behind it and swept it around forward causing some players of the offense party on its right to fall back momentarily to avoid further casualties. It then followed up with a downward diagonal slash onto the now disrupted defense party with its left blade causing one player to fly backward with a red gash along his torso. His HP dropped down to yellow as he quickly got up and readied his shield again.

The moaning eventually became muffled screaming, The Asura gave a barrage of slashes on the defense team. One sword swung down nearly causing a player to get crushed by the impact on his shield followed by another slash that knocked him back before he could even get a chance to recover from the first. That impact sent his HP bar to hit the orange as he screamed in fear.

Norie managed to cover him by blocking the slashes to the limits of her Parry ability. Blocking the first blade, she deflected as the second blade was swung to her. Quickly doing the same, she deflected with more force this time and jumped forward and up slashing a down Vertical across the metallic chest. A very faint red gash was seen as it instantly faded away. Norie was startled by this as The Asura swung horizontally at her with the left blade. Narrowly ducking, she rolled to her right and blocked the swing from the right sword. Then The Asura suddenly swung upward with the left sword in which Norie did not have enough time to guard against. Heathcliff dashed in front of her holding his shield out as the giant crescent tipped sword scathed across his shield.

"Switch!" Heathcliff commanded as Sachi jumped forward from Heathcliff's left delivering an upward Diagonal towards her right followed by four slashes in random directions across the torso of the boss. Sachi's ability to pierce armor was invaluable in this fight as she was guaranteed a steady source of damage that negated the high defense of The Asura. Jumping backward and to her left to avoid the downward slam of a blade, she yelled out "Switch!" and Kirito jumped in her place. It was a good thing the legs of weren't too high, so the torso was in slashable distance, even for Sachi.

Kirito slashed Horizontal to his left, and a little bit below that to his right, then downward Vertical on his left and the same on his right. He had used the skill Vertical Square before the boss had a chance to react.

Looking at the HP bar of The Asura, it was beginning to get yellow as it dropped around the 65 percent area. Her last few blows did a significantly large number on it, comparable to Kirito's attacks, but Sachi knew Kirito's would be much higher than hers; his attacks were jarred by the defense. "Going good so far" Sachi muttered wiping her check of a dirt smudge before dashing towards the boss again.

**ooo**

The battle wined on for about another half an hour, it totaled about 45 minutes of fighting so far. The Asura's HP was starting to drop more and more, but so was the party's. The majority of the party had HP in the yellow, and a couple in the orange. No losses as of yet.

As members of the offense party attacked the legs of The Asura enough to drop its HP down to about 40 percent, it instantly jumped backward. Some players behind it yelped as they scattered around to avoid the impact.

"What's going on?!" One of the players who barely avoided its landing asked

"The battle patterns changing!" Asuna yelled back as she readied herself by Kirito's side.

At this point, The Asura just stared at the party. After a little bit more, it roared even louder than before. The echo shook the entire room as it rushed forward holding its swords upward. The defense party raised their shields in preparation, but instead, The Asura slashed both swords to its left directly hitting about 6 players sending them falling backward.

"What the?!" One player not hit by the sword asked as he rushed to help his downed comrades.

"Wait stop!" Sachi yelled running after him, but it was already too late. The large blade crescent shaped blade came crashing down on him stirring up a gust of dust and wind. Using her hands to block the gust of wind, she squinted only to see the collapsed figure of the male player subdued by the terrifying blade.

"No!" Sachi coursed under her breath as the blade of The Asura lifted up again and turned its attention to other players.

"You're going to be okay, you're going to be okay" Sachi repeated and repeated as she knelt down and held his head up with her arm taking out an HP potion. "Drink it, drink it!" she forced with desperation.

His HP bar dropped from yellow into the orange and ticked down more and more. He mumbled, "I can't…" The blow from The Asura had inflicted shock to him, a status effect that negated the effects of potions for a short duration, the only way was with crystals, but Sachi didn't have any in her quick slot. With her hands trembling, she opened her menu with her eyes desperately scanning her inventory for a healing crystal. Her hands were trembling as she searched and searched, "_Damn it! Where is it!?", _but in realizing the horrible truth, she didn't have a healing crystal on her. She had used her last one on New Years and forgot to restock. Her heart sunk as she whispered "I'm sorry" through her efforts not to cry.

Chuckling lightly with tears forming from his eyes, the boy held Sachi's menu navigating hand, with his own placing a small crystal in her palm, and said "It's too late for me." His voice faded away as his avatar burst into pieces right in Sachi's arms.

"No…" Sachi gagged as her body froze. This was the first death she had witnessed since that fateful day in June. "I couldn't… save him…"

"Sachi!" Kirito screamed as he started dashing towards her. The Asura was going to stab its' sword down onto her. Coming back to her senses briefly, Sachi slid to her right just barely dodging it. With sadness, regret, and a hint of anger and hatred overflowing her emotions, she slashed at the large shiny metal of The Asura's sword, the one that claimed the life of an innocent player. She slashed, and slashed, and slashed, leaving numerous blue plasma scratches along the surface. Rather puzzled by what Sachi was doing,The Asura swung its other blade downward.

"Sachi!" Keshiga said getting behind her blocking the attack, "Sachi, snap out of it!" he pleaded.

Sachi didn't; she kept hacking at the cold metal until The Asura pulled the sword out of the ground. It then swung overhead and sideways nearly hitting her before Keshiga intervened by jumping forward pushing Sachi down to the ground. She felt the sword slice a couple of hairs on her head as Heathcliff covered Kirito's left receiving the brute hit of the sword with his shield.

"Sachi, please concentrate, we need you" Keshiga requested placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry" Sachi said sadly lowering her head, but this moment would be short-lived before more screams of terror were heard.

"Gwaahhhhh!" One member of the defense team screamed in terror as he was sliced cleanly through the waist, thus dropping his HP to 0. The player next to him stared in horror as he stood there completely perplexed by the bursting triangles in front of him. He couldn't move, and as a result, The Asura took hold of him with its large metallic fingers.

"Help! Help me! Someone!" He yelled out as he flailed and flailed in desperation before the fingers around him suddenly tightened their grip instantly crushing him once. That brought his HP down into the orange zone as it did it again. His air was squeezed out of him like his HP as it fell into the danger-red zone. Finally, with one downward swing, the unfortunate player was sent smashing into the ground bringing his HP down to 0. His avatar burst into countless fragments as the horror stricken faces of the rest of the party knew that his soul was lost forever.

Taking advantage of the horror of the players, The Asura stabbed its sword into the middle of the defense party as it swung its right sword back and circled it around hitting about 5 players before anyone had a chance to react. It then pulled its left sword up and swung diagonally focing a few shield users to fall back. Then, it swung its right blade diagonal only to be blocked by Norie.

One of the shield users who was knocked back got up slowly as his HP dropped into the orange. "I'm getting out of here!" he called out in fear as he pulled a teleportation crystal and ported out.

"Me too! I'm not going to die here!" Another cried out doing the same.

"I'm sorry guys! But you should get out when you can too!"

One by one, members of the front line started teleporting out of fear for their own lives. At the moment, 3 players were dead, and numerous others had fled the boss room.

"Heathcliff, what do we do know?!" Asuna asked her commander in what was possibly the most tense situations in SAO history since the devastation of the 25th floor. Heathcliff paused for a moment in deep thought. It was indeed a difficult situation to deal with, would they have to retreat? No, that wasn't an option. Three lives were lost, their fighting would have gone in vain if they retreated now.

"I'll hold the line. Asuna, take the remaining forces and retreat for now. Replenish your HP and send for reinforcements." He ordered staring into her amber eyes.

"By yourself?! But commander, how can you possibly…" Asuna started, but Heathcliff cut her off.

"Do as I tell you" He said begging for the trust of his second in command.

Asuna hesitated for a moment and nodded, "Yes sir" she said as she turned around. "You heard him! Retreat for now!" she ordered pointing her rapier towards the wide open door that led back into the Labyrinth

Everyone retreated (except for Heathcliff) as the "in better shape" members of the party helped the "in less better shape" members out.

"Will he be okay holding the front line by himself?" Keshiga asked glaring at his idol with an uneasy look on his face.

"I trust in him" Asuna said nervously as she watched the figure of Heathcliff defend against an onslaught of sword blows from The Asura. Throughout the entire fight, Heathcliff's HP had taken extremely light drops in terms of percentage. About now, his HP was almost completely full.

He certainly was something else in the eyes of Kirito. To take on a boss by himself is considered a super human feat. Then again, he was a Unique Skill user after all. The wielder of the first known Unique Skill, the Holy Sword

As Sachi helped distribute HP potions that she had made, Asuna gathered the attention of the remaining party, which was only about 13 players excluding Heathcliff. "We need reinforcements if we are going to win this fight, can any of your guilds come to help?" Asuna asked crossing her arms in a serious manner.

"We don't know how much longer Heathcliff can keep his own against the boss" Kirito added standing next to her. Boy could they have used Klein's help around this time he thought to himself.

There was a low mumbling and murmur among the small group. Some people shook their heads and others claimed that their guilds were busy.

"Anyone?" Asuna asked. She could ask the Knights of Blood but most of the members at the moment were in a dungeon for a leveling quota. Not only could she not contact them, but in the Knights of Blood, leveling quotas were at the top of importance.

It was clear that no one wanted to endanger the lives of their fellow guildmates, no one could blame them. Sachi felt the same as them also, but someone had to step up; she trusted the ability of her guildmates. Glaring at Keshiga, then at Norie, the nodded in agreement as they both knew what Sachi wanted to do.

Raising her hand in mild timidity, Sachi said, "I think my guild can help"

"Really?!" Asuna asked with much relief, "Please contact them and tell them to come here fast. Who knows how much time we have"

Hastily opening her menu after nodding to Asuna, Sachi sent an instant voice message to Sakai, the one person whom she knew would answer messages instantly. After waiting a couple of seconds listening to the ringing of the chat,

"Hello?" Sakai's voice came up.

"Sakai?!" Sachi asked.

"Huh? Sachi? How's the fight going? Have you won yet?" Sakai asked with much ignorance to their situation at hand.

"Sakai, I need you to listen carefully, the front line is collapsing, and we need reinforcements. I want you to contact the rest of the guild and hurry up here on the fiftieth floor, please! That's an order!" Sachi said.

"Oh! My! Umm… Yes commander!" Sakai said a little surprised at the sudden order, but cooperated nonetheless, "We'll be there as fast as we can!" she said one last time before hanging up.

"Please Sakai, hurry." Sachi muttered before turning around to the rest of the group, "We have our reinforcements"

"Thank you Sachi" Asuna said showing her thanks by bowing.

"I won't let his life go in vain…" Sachi replied glaring at the single figure of Heathcliff stand against the boss by himself. "Amazing…" she muttered.

"It truly is" Kirito added taking a stand next to her placing a hand on her head, "Good job Sachi" he said trying to give a smile.

**ooo**

10 minutes had passed since the party had retreated to recover from their injuries. They had called for reinforcements about 7 minutes in, and upwards to 10 minutes, Heathcliff started wearing down. His HP and hit the shallow line between green and yellow, though not quite yellow yet, he was very close. No one had ever seen his HP hit the yellow before.

The Asura slashed downward as Heathcliff blocked. It then slashed to the side immediately after to the side; Heathcliff was a bit late, but as he managed to block it, he was also slightly stunned a bit which gave The Asura the opportunity to attack.

Asuna said as she dashed forward as fast as she could to intervene.

"Asuna!" Kirito called out before muttering a curse under his breath and raced after her.

Swinging down with the just deflected blade that Heathcliff had repelled, The Asura smashed downward. Asuna, just barely making it on time, slid in front of Heathcliff raising her sword horizontally over her head to block the oncoming slash. A bright burst of light was emitted from the clash of swords as Asuna trembled under the sheer force of the boss. Managing to push the sword back, she yelled out, "Switch!" and she jumped out of the way.

Kirito then jumped in delivering a few slashes of his own before having to parry two slashes from The Asura. The third strike that he parried stunned him for a moment leaving him open for an attack. Bracing himself for the attack, Kirito tensed his muscles as The Asura leaned both of its blades inward for a dual stab.

But the attack never came. Instead, someone had dashed in front of him blocking both swords. It wasn't Heathcliff, but someone else. _A shield user?_ _But I thought they all left"_ Kirito thought to himself as he heard Sachi call out.

"Sakai! Glad you could make it!"

"Good thing we weren't too late were we?" Sakai replied as she pushed back the two swords. "Hurry everyone!"

Just then, about three ear piercing movements were seen flying through the air and to the face of The Asura. It looked like a small stick at first, but upon further instruction, they were daggers. Looking back, it was the figure of Irina who was midair as she threw the projectiles. Landing gracefully onto her feet, she looked at Sachi and gave a thumbs up. "I guess we'll have to come ourselves if we want that rare item right?" she joked motioning her hand for the rest of the reinforcements along with the remaining main force to join in the battle. Everyone from the New Black Cats of the Full Moon was there. Sakai, Hana, Moto, Futaro, Hana, even Voleke, Helen and Jayson were there also. The battle cries of the entire Clearing Party echoed through then entire boss room as they charged towards The Asura

"Ha! Rare items! This has got to be some good experience!" Moto remarked as he ran forward dodging a slash from The Asura. Getting extremely close, his fist glowed a bright pink with the move Yin Yang Fist as he thrust it into the stomach. As the boss cringed upon the impact of the punch, Moto Jumped upward to deliver an upper cut punch to the chin of the statue.

"At least I get to sink my blade into something" Hana remarked as she pulsed forward past Sakai giving a clean Horizontal along the torso. After dodging and parrying the first and second slashes, she rushed forward using Star Splash, a very high leveled One handed sword skill that delivered an 8 combo hit. Quickly dropping to the ground and rolling away from between the legs of The Asura Hana called out "Switch!"

"Morning rescue, morning rescue! Morning rescue!" Futaro chanted as he darted forward with his two handed axe trailing right behind him. He was chanting the chorus to a commercial that he saw when he was a teenager about 11 years back. It was a commercial about an orange juice like beverage that aired whenever he watched the show called _Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica_. It was rather appropriate, and as the author would call it, "_A nice coincidence that combines the interest of the author in the form of an allusion to current culture_". Futaro and the gang were going to the "rescue" of the Clearing Party in the morning, and as the phrase "Morning Rescue" would describe it, they were indeed rescuing people in the morning. 11:33 A.M. ALT to be exact.

Chanting that ever so crafty phrase, Futaro ducked to dodge an incoming swing as he delivered a strong blow to the side of The Asura. Causing The Asura to stumble through the sheer force of his attacks, he smashed his axe again into the other side. Pulling his axe out, he then delivered two more blows to the left leg and effectively severed one of the arms. Moaning in extreme pain, The Asura swung at Futaro, causing him to fly across the room "Switch!" he called out with a big grin on his face midair.

"Okay!" Keshiga replied jumping down upon the back of The Asura impaling his lance into the back of the neck. Remembering not to make the same mistake twice, Keshiga released his feet that were planted against the back of The Asura and pushed his weight down dragging his lance down the spine of the boss leaving a good red gash. "I'm clear! Switch!"

At that moment, the others started swarming the boss delivering cuts and slashes all around when they could. Even Voleke, Helen and Jayson were taking part in this. If you, the reader (which of course you are), are thinking right now that they are somewhat useless characters, they kind of are just to be frank. They're just there you know? But I digress, back to the story. Now, it was only a matter of time before The Asura's HP would drop to 0, but as it hit a critical HP area of 15 percent, it spun around swinging its blades around with it also. Everyone around it was knocked back, good thing no one was seriously hurt after the small break they had. Swinging the two large crescent shaped blades that claimed a few lives already, they clashed against Norie's glowing cutlass. It swung and swung bringing upon a volley of slashes. Norie skillfully parried each and every attack with immense speed. They didn't call her the Parry Master for no reason now. Even though her AGI was a bit lackluster, her reaction speed when it comes to blocking attacks made it seem as if her AGI was much higher than it actually was.

Finally finding an opening, Norie parried both of the massive swords with one stroke, and rushed forward calling the words, "Ellen! Spirit Awakening: Sonic Slash!"

Now maybe I never went into really big detail about the Spirit Awakening. Remember that Spirits gave a passive and active skill. Both naturally depend on the owners fighting style. Norie's fighting style was to parry and counter. Thus, Ellen gives her additional Parry that exceeds the limit of 1000, giving her a total of 1300 Parry efficiency. The Active comes in the form of a counter attack. After a certain amount of parries, Norie can activate Ellen's Spirit Awakening which buffed up one sword skill that Norie would use effective for one slash. (This means that it won't work for all slashes of a multi-hit combo such as Star Splash and such) As a primary defense, attacking was scarce. So, constantly defending rewarded her with a very strong counter attack that can only be used once until the cool down took effect.

Again, digression strikes. Norie's sword started glowing even brighter than usual as she delivered one slash to an arm of The Asura severely damaging it as it eventually popped off slamming into the ground with a very loud clang bursting into fragments.

Moaning even louder, The Asura took a few steps back to try to escape any further damage from the loss of two of its arms.

Looking back, Norie did her usual index-middle finger to the noggin flick before she said "Switch"

This was Asuna's turn. Rushing forward to the boss as her nickname would describe, she delivered a flurry of jabs all across the torso and arms with such speed and accuracy, it terrified many of those who were watching. Her AGI was so high, it was unbelievable as to how much brain power it required for one to have such quick reactions and attack speeds. Eventually, The Asura managed to give a horizontal slash that Asuna blocked by jabbing her rapier. Even though she blocked it, she did not escape the shockwave that accompanied it as she slid to the side on her feet yelling "Switch!"

Sachi took the round as she ran in as she jabbed downward at The Asura's leg. It swung at Sachi trying to swat her away. There was a single clash as their blades met, but this time, there was a sensational phenomenon that no one had seen before. A bright blue light was emitted as their blades collided; then following this, bright blue cracks had shown themselves into the blade of The Asura. It was the same blade that Sachi had randomly swung at before. Everyone had wondered why she did this, but all didn't know until now. All throughout the fight, Sachi had focused on clashing blades with this particular one to deal as much damage to the durability as possible, thus, utilizing her Enhanced Weapon Break skill that accompanied her Lightsaber. The crescent tipped blade shattered. Sachi gave a sigh of relief, but it was short lived. The other blade of The Asura came swinging from the side hitting her directly in the stomach bringing her HP down into the yellowish orange as she was sent flying to the side coarsely yelling: "Switch!"

It was Kirito's turn. Screaming his lungs out as he ran towards the overly battered figure of The Asura, he jumped upward holding his sword in reverse for a clear stab to the head. With a hard slam downward, Kirito's sword hit something extremely hard, but he forced it in even harder, harder and harder until what he smashed his blade into dispersed into countless fragments of data, and eventually into nothingness. Just like the lives of the players it took. The HP bar of The Asurastruck 0 at long last as it burst into countless polygons of data.

Everyone cheered in victory as they all slumped down in exhaustion and fatigue.

"It's finally over…" Sachi muttered in between gulps of air looking approaching Kirito. She tried to say something, but Kirito was concentrating on something else. "Kirito?"

He just looked at Sachi as he pulled out a pitch black sword from his inventory only muttering the word Elucidator.

**ooo**

_Everything was white when Sachi opened her eyes. "Hello?" she asked looking around. It was just a white empty space that she was standing in. Nothing was around, nothing sounded except the echo of her own voice. "Where am I?" she asked disturbing the silence of this mysterious realm once again. _

"_You are in a realm that one goes before they enter the afterlife" A voice said._

_Looking around, Sachi responded, "Why am I here? Have I died? Has this past year been a dream?" _

_Just then, the form of a boy, just around Sachi's age, formed from nothing. _

"_No, you are here because I have one last request for you" he said._

_Sachi gasped a bit, "You are…" she pointed. It was the boy that had given her the crystal before he died._

"_It is me." He said bowing slightly. "I never introduced myself. My SAO name is Telfa, but my real name is __Takenao Hatakeda" _

_Sachi nodded in reply. His face was fresh and clean as his brown eyes sundered with trust and stability. His ivory green hair shined like an emerald dropped into a wintery snow field. His simple clothing of jeans and an orange T-shirt protruded the fact that he was s simple boy. _

"_The crystal I gave you contains my address. My request to you is this. When you return back into the real world, please go and tell my mother that I love her. Tell my family members that I love them and that I will always be with them, forever" He said._

_Upon hearing this, a small crystal had formed right in front of her. She held her hands out and let the delicate looking spectacle fall into her hands. It was just like the one she left for Kirito. _

"_Please fulfill my request" He said with a gentle smile. _

"_I will" Sachi nodded with a smile of her own, "I'm sorry, I couldn't save you"_

_Chuckling lightly, "It's okay. At least someone was by my side for those last moments" he said before giving a wave."I must go now."_

_Sachi waved back at him, "Um, before you go…"_

_Looking back to see what final words Sachi had to say, Takeno asked what she wanted._

"_If you meet a boy named Keita in Heaven, can you tell him I said hello and that I'm doing fine?" Sachi requested folding her hands with an earnest smile._

"_Ah, I'll try my best" he smiled back at her before waving again. His body started fading slowly and slowly until the white background remained and only Sachi remained. Then suddenly, everything went black._

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, January 5, 2024**

Sachi opened her eyes slowly to the gentle blowing of the curtains from the soothing wind. Bringing herself up into a sitting position, she rubbed her eyes. "Takeno…" she muttered.

Her stomach was grumbling lightly as she tiptoed into the kitchen to look for something to satisfy her mild hunger. Opening the "fridge", (As the guild so called it. It was just a guild storage safe that was specifically bought to hold leftover food), Sachi took out a slice of leftover strawberry cake from the 50th floor clearing party the guild had. Along with the cake was a pitcher of white liquid and a jar that contained a pink powder. The white liquid of the pitcher resembled milk in every way. Pouring some into a glass, she took a spoon and scooped up some of the powder from the jar and stirred it into the milk. It turned into a light pink, and there she had it, a nice sweet glass of strawberry milk.

It was quite ironic, Sachi's favorite color was blue; everything about her was blue, but her favorite fruit was a bright red strawberry. Ironic indeed. Taking one succulent bite, the sweet flavor of the fluffy bread melted into her mouth. To finish off the bite, she took a sip of the cold and refreshing strawberry milk. It was the perfect meal in Sachi's eyes; everything was just right.

Enjoying her midnight snack, Sachi heard light footsteps creeping from the living quarters with her enhanced Hearing. They then entered the dining room as the rather hunched drowsy faced Keshiga slowly stepped in and asked "You can't sleep?"

**ooo**

They were silent as both of them ate their slice of cake and drank their drink.

"Sachi?" Keshiga asked as he laid his spoon gently on his plate, "Are you okay? You've been waking up in the middle of the night constantly"

It was true; Sachi had been awoken to strange dreams about various people. Some of them she's never seen before, others were her closest friends, but all of them were dead as a result of this game. You could call it a nightmare, but Sachi wasn't necessarily scared during those dream sequences.

"Ah…" Sachi muttered dropping her spoon as it clanked quietly with her plate, "No…"

Keshiga watched she started breaking down. Tears were starting to form around her eyes as she trembled. "Sachi…" he muttered getting up. Walking to her side and taking a seat, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she cried lightly into his chest.

"I miss them Keshiga…. I miss them…so much…" Sachi tried her best to forget about the impact her guildmates deaths had on her. She did manage to leave all that behind her until now, when she witnessed the death of Takeno and a few others on the 50th floor boss battle. That whole incident opened the permanent scars of that fateful day in June, and survivor's guilt kicked in yet again.

Yet this time, Sachi had the support of her guild with her.

"Keshiga?"

"What is it Sachi?" Keshiga replied in a gentle voice.

"Can I… sleep in your bed tonight?"

It was a very sudden question that Keshiga paused for a moment to answer. Closing his eyes, smiling, "Yea…" he whispered.

Maybe it was another step into digging his relationship deeper with Sachi, but both of their Ethics Codes remained on for the rest of the night.

**Notes: Honestly, I'm not sure how this chapter was written; it was really long and I've been swamped with homework and stuffs. So I just wanted to quickly proofread it and publish it already .. I think I rushed through it quite a bit, and I'm 100% sure that I was quite redundant with the fight scenes, then again, I'm not too good with stuff like this since I'm more of an artist kind of person. Otherwise, I think I made my point with this chapter and I am quite satisfied with it. Please tell me what you guys think! Please leave your reviews below and again, more chapters to come!**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17 – Towards _that_ Day

**January 10, 2024 – Aiku Hospital, Tokyo**

The stale smell of rubber and medicine filled the halls of the Aiku Hospital, Intensive Care unit, as Eri Shibaguchi walked slowly through the ward. Eventually, she made it to an area that bore the sign «SAO Incident Victim's Ward». The air stilled with an eerie silence as the middle aged woman turned left down the hall and stopped in front of door number 78B. Turning the knob and opening it gently, the bedridden figure of a teenage girl lay silent in an astral projection state. The steady beep of the cardiac monitor was the only sign that the girl was still alive.

Taking a seat beside the bed, Eri smiled warmly at the girls sleeping face gripping her limp hand. The girl's skin was so soft, yet her fingers felt so fragile after nearly one and a half years in this condition.

"Do your best… Please, so that you can return to me….to us. Sachiyo…happy birthday" Eri whispered as she squeezed Sachi's hand lowering her head in a quiet sobbing.

**ooo**

Lying in her bed, Sachi was glaring at the ceiling of her wall as she breathed lowly. Strange, it is winter in SAO, and her body was still a little chilly, but there was a warm feeling in her left hand, as if someone was gripping it. She had felt this before, and never really paid attention to it until now. Exploring the possibilities, Sachi realized as she held her hands close to her chest and smiled warmly with a tear dripping down her cheek.

"Mom…"

**March 2, 2024 Aincrad 50****th**** Floor, Algade (Timeskip Eh?)**

"Thank you come again!" Sachi called out to a customer leaving her store as she waved with a happy expression. Recently, Sachi had opened her own little potion shop called «Brewed to Equilibrium» (Equilibrium was Sachi's favorite topic in chemistry) on the 50th Floor in Algade. It was pretty close to the marketplace, so she had to travel very little to search for some ingredients. Her business was turning out very well; as one of the very few potion makers in SAO, she had managed to make a good living on her profession.

Sachi had taken upon a profession outside of combat within the past few months. It wasn't the best idea to be a pure fighter as the Col gain wasn't always proportionate to the amount of effort you put into fighting and you also ran the risk of dying, a lesson Sachi learned long ago. The people that gained the most money out of this style of income were the higher leveled guilds and solo players. Since most other players were not soloers or part of the KoB or DDA, they had to take upon craftsman jobs like blacksmithing, tailoring, and cooking aside from fighting. Those three were among the more popular trades because they were significantly easier and less costly to do when compared to the more difficult trades such as alchemy, jewel crafting, lumber milling, and merchanting. Alchemy was the trade that Sachi decided to work in. Alchemy in SAO was basically potion making with a slight branch into crystal making.

Sachi remembered back in school, chemistry was a subject that she took a very keen interest in; in all actuality, being a chemist was what she wanted to be when she grew up.

A player who specialized in potion making could make various levels of HP potions that were of a much higher quality than the ones sold at the NPC shop. We're talking about potions that could heal almost all of the drinkers HP with one sip; that's the level of potency it can achieve. They aren't just limited to HP potions; they can also create various quality buff potions also. These buff potions can temporarily raise stats such as STR, AGI, and HP for a couple of hours. Some potions can be used to reinforce weapons and increase the durability and overall quality. They might even increase the chance of creating a strong weapon, ideal for blacksmiths. Others can be used to cure various status ailments and increase one's resistance to abnormal statuses. Some can also inflict status ailments, but since they were useless against bosses, not many people bothered to waste their time doing so. That is, unless they planned to PK. But sinister motives aside, Sachi had no desire to create a weapon that could kill other players.

There are some rare recipes that can increase experience and Col gain temporarily. But of course, the big catch was that most of the ingredients were of significant value, so it could get a bit pricey if you don't know how to play the market game.

Placing her hands on her hips, Sachi went to get started on preparing some basic solutions that would serve as the base for the rest of her potions. "Oh darn…." She said checking the cabinets above the counters that were lined up against the wall behind the front counter. Checking the cabinets under the table in the middle where all the lab equipment went, she scratched her head. She was out of a certain ingredient called «White Paste» in her present stock, so she had to go downstairs into the pantry to retrieve some more. Though, the tedious thing about it is that the paste tends to "glop" (Catch the reference? ) around very much if she carries it while walking front ways up the stairs, as her steps causes it to rock back and forth. So the alternative cleaner solution would be to walk backwards up the stairs. Opening a large cabinet in the basement, she drew a rather large tray of test tubes. Each tube had the same amount of pasty white liquid in them, that way; Sachi wouldn't have to measure out each and every sample she used for preparing potions; it saved up huge chunks of time.

The light chime of the bell to her front door rang indicating that a customer was in. "Coming!" she called out from downstairs as she hastily walked her way backwards up the stairs being careful not to spill any. Though Sachi wouldn't get dirty, the «White Paste» was a rather precious ingredient, every potion made started with this, so it would be a crippling loss if she spilled any.

Eventually, Sachi made it to the top of the stairs and used her butt to push open the door back into her "lab", which was just the space behind the front counter. "Sorry for the delay" Sachi sighed as she carefully placed the tray of test tubes onto the counter nearby.

"Sachi?" A familiar voice said.

"Hmm?" Sachi turned to see who it was. It was a boy with cream blonde hair, flowed over his ears. Familiar blue eyes stared at Sachi as his plate armor clanged with the slightest movement. It was the face of someone Sachi hadn't seen for a couple of months, it was Taru. "Taru!" she exclaimed with gladness.

"Sachi!" Taru replied with positive enthusiasm as Sachi went to the counter to greet her old friend.

"How have you been Taru? Are the «Errand Knights» doing well?"

"Ah, we're doing good. You look like you're doing good Sachi" Taru replied giving a light chuckle, "You've been all over the news" He placed a piece of paper from the Aincrad Newspaper on the counter. It was an issue from early January with a main headline that read: _**Second **_**«**_**Unique Skill**__»__** user has been revealed!**_

Reading the headline to herself, Sachi gave a nervous giggle as she rubbed the back of her head.

"To be honest, I knew you had something special in you Sachi" Taru commented as he retrieved the paper. "But I wasn't expecting _this_"

"Haha, thanks Taru. Now…. How can I help you?" Sachi asked with an intent smile as she leaned on the counter strapping her lab goggles on her forehead.

"Oh, that's right" Taru realized as he took another piece of paper out, and handed it to Sachi. "The guild needs this order by today"

Taking the piece of paper, Sachi mumbled in surprise. "This is a pretty big order. Why do you guys need it by today?" she asked as she pulled her lab goggles over her eyes and slid her arms into her lab coat.

"Well, we're going to train in some more difficult fields today, so we need the best quality potions that you can offer." Taru explained.

Sachi nodded her head reading over the rather long list. A lot of HP potions, some mixed buff potions, and an EXP gain potion. The thing about the EXP potion is that it can be shared among other people. One bottle could equate to about 10 people if they took sips evenly and they would all gain the same increase for the same amount of time. Keeping one to oneself just increases the amount of time you get the increase. Mostly soloers took this route.

"Can you manage?"

"Ah, I think so. Most of the items on this list I've already made. It won't take me too long to get to the others." She replied as she got started on the order by starting up her Bunsen burner and cauldron stove.

Rummaging through the cabinets and taking out jars, Sachi began sprinkling bits of powder into a little flask. She then pulled the corks off some bottles and poured fluid liquids into the cauldron. Letting it simmer for a few minutes, Sachi stirred occasionally.

"So how's Norie doing? Is she still the same old?" Taru asked taking a peek through the display cases.

"She's going good. Still same old Norie." Sachi replied a she stirred the contents of the cauldron around with a large ladle.

"What about Keshiga?"

"He's doing great also" Sachi took a spoon and tasted some of the contents before sprinkling variously colored chunks of poweder into the bubbling liquid.

"So? Are you two… you know? In a relationship?" Taru teased with a smile

"Relationship!?" Sachi reacted nervously almost dropping the entire container of «Red Beets» (A red-ish root that was the primary ingredient in STR potions).

"Aha! I knew it! From the moment I saw you two, I knew you would get together" Taru said crossing his arms with accomplishment.

"Well…. We kind of are in one…" Sachi said timidly as she continued to stir.

"Is it serious?" He leaned in like a teenage girl listening in on some gossip

"N-not yet" Sachi replied getting red as she shook him off as she pouted in frustration.

"Haha, sorry, I'm just teasing you" Taru chuckled.

Calming down a bit, Sachi continued her work by dropping a few bits of plant roots and some chunks of strange fruits, Sachi stirred one last time before a menu popped up. Closing it, Sachi then tapped the cauldron and it glowed. Then, on the counter next to the now empty cauldron, about 10 red potions had appeared all in their exquisite glass containers. They were «Exquisite HP Potions» which were quite pricey on the market these days.

Rummaging through the cabinets under, Sachi pulled up three green «AGI Potions», four orange «STR Potions», and four yellow «Health Increase Potions».

"I still need one more" Sachi pointed a finger as a signal to wait. Taking a key out of her inventory, she went back down into the pantry. After a couple of minutes, she returned with a vial of rainbow silvery like liquid and a golden colored leaf, the primary ingredients of an «EXP Potion».

Taking a test tube and filling it halfway with «White Paste», Sachi lit the Bunsen burner extremely lowly. She then secured the test tube with the lowest part just barely touching the flame as she slowly poured the rainbow silvery liquid into the tube, being careful not to pour too much too fast.

At this point, Sachi's face was extremely close to the test tube to get the most accurate amount possible. Slowly, the « White Paste» started to turn into a rainbow color when it came in contact with the liquid. Then, Sachi gently broke a piece of the leaf off and ground it up finely with a bowl and a masher. Pouring the golden powder into the test tube, Sachi then used a thin stick to stir the contents.

Lastly, she took a pipet and filled it with a pinkish substance. Then, with her hand trembling as it held the pipet, she squeezed as gently as possible. One droplet of pink liquid was absorbed into the solution and Sachi quickly pulled the pipet away and returned the rest of the solution to the container.

Sighing greatly to herself, she poured the rainbowy contents of the test tube into a small vial capped it with a glass cork. Holding it delicately with both hands, she entrusted it with Taru.

"Take good care of it. That's 200k Col right there. " She warned tapping the rest of the potions and pressing the «Bundle» feature, all of them disappeared into a little bag that Sachi then lumped onto the counter in front of Taru.

"Added a little strawberry flavor to it, the bag is courtesy of me" She smiled as she patted the soft traveler's bag that she had gotten from a monster drop.

"Uh, thank you so much Sachi!" Taru showed his gratitude by placing a sack of Col on top of the bag. "Here's a little extra for the bag," he started to say pulling another bag of Col out.

"No no, it's fine. It's a gift" Sachi rejected politely.

"If you say so then" Taru took the Col back as he gripped the strap of the potion bag.

"Hey, if you have some time, would you like to catch up?" Sachi suggested.

"I would love to-" Taru said before a message came for him, "Ah, sorry. The guild is calling me, I'm already late " he said a little disappointed. "But I'll try to find some time later. Does that sound good?"

"Aww, okay then that sounds great. Stay safe okay? Don't die and send the «Errand Knights» my regards" Sachi waved as she watched Taru wave back and steadily leave her shop.

It was indeed reassuring to know that Taru was still around. Sachi was afraid that he died. Giving a sigh of relief, she lit up the stove of the cauldron again and got started on the rest of her orders for today.

**ooo**

"Now where is it?" Sachi asked herself rummaging through the cabinets under the lab table in the middle of the room. She was searching for a vial of Pure Oak Sap, an ingredient vital to the creation of «Col Potions». It's a very rare ingredient indeed, but the reward in terms of Col gain was invaluable. Sachi was sure she had one somewhere as she dug her hand deeper into the cabinet. "Ah!" she muttered as she felt her fingers wrap around a thin glossy surface. She remembered that the container of the ingredient was in a type of Florence flask, a thin long neck with a round body. Pulling the glass container out carefully, she grasped it with both hands. Losing this precious ingredient would lead to a huge loss of profit.

"Riing!" The light chiming of the door bell was heard. That was weird, there was the sound of only one person's footsteps, but Sachi heard two entities breathing. Was it Norie? Nah, it couldn't. She would be able to hear Ellen's loud voice by now or her loud eating. A couple of seconds in thought as she was sitting on the floor behind the counter, Sachi suddenly saw a small blue dragon float down to her. She was a little startled as she stared into the red eyes of the beast as she yelped a bit almost dropping her precious vial.

"Eep! A m-monster? What if my property is on a non-safe zone? What if people can PK any time?!" She panicked to herself before she heard the voice of a young girl say, "Pina! Come back here!"

Doing as it was told, the blue dragon floated back up and over the counter as Sachi stood up still rather shaken as she turned to face her customer. It was a very young girl with brown hair and two pigtails and a blue dragon that was hanging on her head.

"Don't scare the shop owner Pina!" The girl lightly scolded, "I'm sorry about that" she said

"Oh, it's all good" Sachi waved off as she took a seconds to slightly calm down, "But I have to ask, how did you get a partner like that?"

The girl tilted her head in slight confusion, "I'm a «Beast Tamer»" she replied patting her dragon Pina on the head.

"«Beast Tamer»?" Sachi asked scratching her cheek lightly. "_Could she be like Norie?"_ she wondered. Sachi was still rather ignorant about certain «Extra Skills», "What's a «Beast Tamer»?"

"Huh?" the girl started to say before the curious Pina knocked over some display potions that caused a loud shatter. "Pina! Oh, I'm sorry!" She apologized.

"Ah it's no problem. Those were only basic HP potions, so losing them won't do too much harm." Sachi reassured as she took some potions from below her counter and replaced them with the now disappeared ones.

"Thank you" the girl said patting the head of Pina lightly, "My name is Silica"

"Sachi" Sachi replied with a slight wave, "Now, what is a beast tamer?" she asked pulling her lab goggles up to her head and placing her rubber gloves on the counter.

"Ah, a «Beast Tamer» is…" Silica elongated the s' sound trying to think of an explanation. Just then, the light ring of the door was heard as the munching sounds of a little girl with pink hair was heard next to the footsteps of a taller girl with purple hair.

"Norie!" Sachi waved.

"Yo Sachi" Norie greeted with her usual gesture, "I just came by to drop off some ingredients Futaro got his hands on" she said holding a leather bag up while glaring at Silica and Pina. "Well, it's not every day you get to meet the «Beast Tamer» Silica" she said approaching them.

Silica stared in surprise at the newcomer. A while back about a little after Silica had tamed Pina, she had heard rumors of a «Spirit Weapon » user that was much alike her in most ways. Keeping that in mind, she always wanted to meet this peculiar person.

"You know her Norie?" Sachi asked as she watched Ellen eat cookies from a bag. As she chewed on one, Pina floated next to her staring at her with curiosity. Breaking a piece off, Ellen offered it to Pina, who ate happily. Ellen giggled with delight.

"Actually, no, not personally" Norie said rubbing the back of her head, "I've read a lot about her in the papers though."

"I'm t-that well known?" Silica stammered with embarrassment.

"Don't worry too much about it. This girl right here and I have been in it before" Norie explained as she rested her elbow on Sachi's head. "You're popularity should die down in a couple of days after players realize that they can't get the skill and give up"

"Ah… okay…" she replied. Silica couldn't stand the thought of seeing "those" two again. (If you've watched the anime, you should know what my reference is)

"I'm Norie, but I'm sure you already heard my name" Norie introduced herself as she scrunched Ellen's hair lightly, "And this is my Spirit Partner Ellen"

Ellen giggled slightly as Pina licked her cheek, "Ahaha! Stop it!"

"That's Pina and I'm Silica" Silica introduced herself. "I think Pina's happy to make a new friend."

"Ellen probably thinks the same" Norie said before Ellen butted in.

"Can we play for a while?" she asked with a child-like demeanor.

"Sure, just stay in the shop" Norie patted Ellen's head as she started flying around in random directions with Pina following right behind her as they played "chase".

Norie chuckled warmly as she shook her head turning towards Sachi. "So I heard you asked the question of what a «Beast Tamer» is?"

Sachi nodded in reply.

"It's quite obvious isn't it? A «Beast Tamer» is the animal counterpart to a «Spirit Weapon»." Norie pointed out.

Sachi shook her head in understanding. In trying to change the topic, "Do you guys want some tea?" she asked.

Silica thought about it for a moment. She didn't have anything else to do at the moment, so she had plenty of time to relax. "Sure"

"Norie?" Sachi asked turning to her to see if she wanted some tea.

"Hmmm" Norie tapped her chin, "Let's see, I'm not busy until 1, so I have some time for tea. Yea, why not? We'll let partners play for a bit"

**ooo**

"So how's being a «Beast Tamer» going for you Silica? I'm sure a dragon doesn't eat as much as Ellen" Norie asked as she took a sip of her warm tea. They were all sipping tea around the front counter. Sachi had brought some chairs out to sit on.

"Hey! I heard that!"

Glancing at Ellen and Pina sharing pastries made Silica smile, "Pina reminds me of my cat" Silica said rather bittersweetly. "She kind of reminds me of the real world."

Norie nodded silently, "Ah, it sure does." She said staring at Ellen's smiling face. Lowering her head softly out of silent agony, she left out a brooding sigh. "Ellen reminds me of the real world too"

"_Haha! Norie!" Ellen's voice rang in her head._

"_Have a fun day at school okay?" The 17 year old Norie asked kneeling down to give the six year old Ellen a light hug. _

"_Mm!" Ellen complied with enthusiasm, "Will you be home today?"_

_Norie shook her head. "Sorry, Ellen, I have work after school today" she said hiding the red mark along her wrist._

"_Are mommy and daddy going apart?" Ellen asked before she headed towards her school_

"_No, I'll make sure that mommy and daddy stay together. No matter what" Norie assured kissing Ellen on the forehead. "Now go and have fun at school okay? I'll take care of the rest" _

"_Okay! Goodbye Norie!" Ellen said_

"_Goodbye Norie!"_

_Goodbye Norie!_

_Goodbye Norie_

_Goodbye…._

_Norie couldn't even say goodbye back._

"That would be really cool don't you think Norie?" Sachi asked, "Norie?"

"Huh?" Norie shot back to her senses, "Yea, I think it would be totally cool" she agreed even though she didn't know what she was agreeing on.

"Are you okay Norie? You've been spacing out much more than usual"

"I'm fine. I'm just… not getting much sleep recently" Norie replied rubbing her temple.

"Really? There's a couch downstairs, you can sleep on that" Sachi offered, but Norie declined.

"I'm fine" She insisted as she checked the time. "Besides, it's about time I get going" she said as she gulped the rest of her tea. "Let's go Ellen."

"Awww! I was having so much fun too!" Ellen wined as Pina was sitting on her lap. "Goodbye Pina! Hope we see each other again" she giggled as she nuzzled her nose on Pina's.

"Okay then, see you at home Norie" Sachi waved.

"See ya, and it was nice to meet you Silica" Norie waved at them, "If Pina ever wants to see Ellen again, just give me a call okay?'

Silica nodded in reply as she waved back at Norie. "See you around!"

Norie nodded with a smile as she exited the shop.

"I guess it's about time I go too." Silica started to say before she finished her tea. "Wait!" she suddenly remembered why she was there.

"Hmm?" Sachi asked from behind the counter at Silica's sudden movement

"I almost forgot! I would like to buy some potions"

**ooo**

It was nearing 4:00 P.M. ALT and Sachi was about to close the shop for today before she heard the bell ring again. "_Another customer?_" She thought to herself. It should be considered a good thing that she gets a lot of customers, but today was just abnormal. "You're lucky I haven't closed yet"

"Hey Sachi!" A rather enthusiastic male voice said.

That voice was very familiar to Sachi as she turned around to take a look. He wore a red bandana with matching red eastern armor and a katana strapped to his waist. "Oh, hello Klein. What do you need today?" she asked sarcastically leaning on her counter as usual when she chatted with a customer.

"Ahaha, sorry about intruding when you're closing Sachi, but I was kind of busy the entire day" Klein replied with a rusty chuckle and a rub behind the neck.

"Nah it's okay. I'll make an exception for frequent customers like you" Sachi winked in reply. Klein indeed was a frequent customer of Sachi's. She was actually recommended to him by Norie. "Now, should I wrap up the usual order for you?" she asked going down to the cabinets under the lab table pulling some HP potions out.

"Actually no. I'm here to order buff potions and an «EXP potion» on top of that. Do you have anymore?" Klein asked resting his hand on the counter.

"Let me check…" Sachi said holding a finger up to signal "Wait a moment". Checking her buff potion cabinets, there was a couple yellow and light red vials left. She also had prepared a batch of «EXP Potion»s because they had been so popular as of late.

Looking up, she nodded her head at Klein, "How many do you need?" she asked.

"I'll take all you have then" Klein replied instantly taking a large sack of Col out.

"Well, in a little rush now aren't we?" Sachi asked grabbing two vials at a time in each hand and lining them up on the counter next to the sack of money. As Sachi got the potions out, Klein asked,

"Hey, is Norie in today?"

"Erm, no. She was here earlier, but she left because she had something to do" Sachi replied as she cleaned the cabinet out of potions.

"Ah" Klein said in slight disappointment. It is not clear as of this point whether Klein actually has a crush on Norie or not. But it could start growing into one over time; then again, getting a date with Norie is a bit farfetched as she is not interested in a relationship at the moment. Who knows, it might come later.

Accepting the payment, Sachi had to ask, "Is there something going on today? Because I've been getting more customers than usual, and they seem to be taking a big liking to the buff potions and the «EXP Potions» especially."

"Ah, you didn't hear?" Klein asked gently handling the small vial of rainbow liquid.

"Hear what?"

"Mobs on the recent floors have been respawning super fast. So everyone's scrambling around trying to make the most out of it." Klein explained

"So that explains it" Sachi noted. She wasn't complaining, it was excellent business for her.

"Well, I gotta run Sachi. You should take the «Black Cats» and do a little training sometime. Some top level guilds are already marking territories; some people say it's getting fierce between them"

"Alrighty then, thanks for the tip Klein!" Sachi waved as he left, "Marking territory huh… human's aren't like animals are they?"

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House**

"I'm home!" Sachi called out as she went through the door of the guild house.

"Welcome home!" Sakai said as she popped her head through the kitchen with her hands clasped together holding a ladle. The delicious smell of Sakai's cooking gave a smile on Sachi's face as she slouched down onto the couch observing the board game between Irina and Moto. The light chat between Sakai and Voleke's group could be heard from the kitchen.

"Ello Sachi" Moto greeted as me moved a game piece of a game called Shoji. (Japanese style chess) "Checkmate!"

There weren't many things to do in SAO outside of fighting, professions and sleep as there were no computers and such to access the internet. So as a feature, the game designers implemented a universal board game system that had numerous board games from different countries complete with all the accessories you need and an instruction and demonstration manual.

"Awww what?" Irina moaned in surprise, "Why are you so good Moto?"

Moto snickered and said, "I used to be the club president for my schools Shoji club. I brought us to nationals" with a gloating manner.

With Irina pouting about losing to Moto yet again, Sakai brought some tea out as the front door opened again.

"What a long day" Norie muttered as she slumped down onto the seat next to Sachi. Ellen was observing the game between Moto and Irina with silent interest.

"Training hard today?" Sachi asked as Norie stretched.

"Harder than usual"

"You should at least notify the guild leader when you're out finding good training spots" Sachi grinned.

"Well, my apologies as sub leader, but I bought a spot for us on the 56th Floor." The territory system worked like this, there is a land owner NPC in town that sells a set area of land for a price proportionate to the size. Other factors to the price include how close it is to town, the closer it is, the more it costs. Monster spawn rates are also affected by how many people are in a particular area, even thought spawn rates are off the charts, the more people in one area might negate that completely. No one knows why the spawn rates are going ballistic, but no one cared about it either. This is why people are very stingy about others intruding on territory because if they cannot make any profit from the cost of «EXP Potions» and «Col Potions» then that's money very much so wasted, so players want to kill as many mobs as possible.

"Oh, so you know about the mob spawns too?" Sachi asked.

"Yea, everyone knows about it" Sakai called out from the kitchen.

"Really?"

"Mhm, you're like, the last in the guild to know" Helen responded.

"Huh…" Sachi realized as she tapped her chin, she was indeed falling behind in the news recently "So are we going there on our leveling quota's now?"

"You're the guild leader, you decide" Irina said moving a Shoji piece.

"I guess we should wait until Futaro and Hana come home" Sachi said before Sakai yelled out

"Dinner!" Sakai called

**ooo**

"Ahem, everyone!" Sachi voiced to everyone clanging her glass cup with her spoon. "I have an announcement to make. As you all know, the monster spawns on the higher floors have been increasing within the past week, and Norie was so kind as to reserve us a spot on the 56th floor. The location is here.."Sachi said as she placed a map crystal in front of her. A 3d hologram of the floors then appeared as she pointed to the flashing perimeter of their territory.

"It's all I could get without pissing off the other guilds, but it should be big enough for us." Norie cut in.

Pausing a moment, "From now on, we'll be conducting our training in that area until further notice. Everyone okay with that?" Sachi asked. Like usual, everyone agreed on the new plans.

"I have a question" Hana raised her hand after munching on some bread, "What if people intrude on our territory?" The territory system was steadily rising as the mob spawns increased. More and more people are becoming defensive and suspicious of others on their training areas. But of course, not many people would take it to the Red cursor level.

The guild thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure I can force people away" Sakai said.

"Yea, I don't think I can either. I don't want us to seem like the mean guild in the area" Keshiga replied.

"I'm sure if we ask them nicely, they would understand" Ellen stated her opinion.

"Nuh uh, this world is bound to be full of people who'll trample on our lack of force. We can't be too forceful, but we can't be too easy either." Futaro started to say, "We'll just have to wait and see"

**Aincrad 56****th**** Floor, March 4, 2024 «Pani»**

"Now be careful guys, when training, try not to wander too far away from our area." Norie cautioned, "Within a few days, every square inch of the floor will be claimed some a guild of some sort. The only thing that everyone agreed on is keeping roads neutral and some natural pathways to dungeons. If you're on someone else's territory, don't kill any of their mobs. They'll let you slide through territory as long as you don't take any of their experience or Col. But that's if they're nice enough to "

"The DDA has an extremely strong presence on this floor, "Moto said as they walked down the path towards the south eastern side of the 56th floor, "Their HQ is in «Pani», and they're a huge guild. Like twice the size of the KoB." He gestured as he spread his arms apart.

"I'm sure they've taken most of the area's closer to town, so I don't think we'll have to worry about encountering the DDA. It's the other guilds I'm worried about" Sachi said as the 7 members of the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» took a turn to the forest from the pathway. Hana and Futaro were working and Helen was watching Sachi's shop.

The route through the forest was rather worn as people would take it often.

"Hey, you!" A voice called out from in the trees, "What are you doing in our territory?" He and a group of about 8 others appeared from the thick trees all around the guild.

"Ah, sorry! We're trying to get to our territory by the quarry." Norie said.

"I bet their lying!" Another one yelled as they started closing in.

"They aren't planning on attack us are they?" Hana asked keeping her hand on the hilt of her sword.

"Norie! Sachi! Keshiga!" A familiar voice said as the figure of Taru came through the trees.

"Taru?"

"Taru, you know these punks?" One of them asked

"Ah, they're good friends of mine. What are you guys doing here?" He greeted the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon»

"Taru! Long time no see!" Norie exclaimed as she gave him a big hug. "We're just passing by to get to our slice of the field"

"Really now?" He asked opening up his map. It was a unique map that divided up the floor based on who occupied the land. Zooming in on their current position, it turns out that the «New Black Cats of the Full Moons» piece was right to the east of the «Errand Knights» territory. Since they already had friendly relations with some of the members, it wouldn't be long before both guilds built good relations. "Well I'll be"

"Coincidence huh?" Sachi replied

"Coincidence indeed" A voice said as the leader of the «Errand Knights» appeared. It was a young woman with stout flowing black air as she crossed her arms. Her white and green armor reflected the uniforms of the rest of the «Errand Knights» as her expression was calm and cool. "Taru's told me quite a bit about you guys"

"Ah! Leah!" Taru said showing his respect by crossing his chest with his fist and bowing his head slightly.

"Leah! What are we going to do about these guys?" The cocky one who called them punks asked

"Let them through, I can tell they aren't bad folk" Leah replied whisking her hand in the direction of the quarry. "I only ask that you do the same for us when the time arises"

"Will do!" Sachi saluted with respect before the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» continued eastward.

Before Sachi followed the rest, Leah tapped her on the shoulder, turning, she was Leah's winking with a grin, "I'd like to see that «Unique Skill» of yours someday"

"That day might be soon" Sachi replied back.

**March 6, 2024**

A usual day of training at the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» territory on the 56th floor went like this; the guild would cross «Errand Knights» territory to reach their own without any problems since they were both in good feelings towards each other. Norie had picked out a spot around the quarry, so not only do they get field mobs, but they also get access to monsters and minerals in the quarry as well. Occasionally, a wandering party would accidently step onto their area, but as nice as the guild was, Sakai would invite them to lunch. The guild also didn't charge anyone Col for access to the quarry either, so players could freely enter or exit as they wished. This also gave good relations with the surrounding guilds also; among those were some well known clearing guilds.

After a long day of fighting, the guild sat down to a nice picnic lunch that Sakai had prepared.

"How do you think the clearing party is doing?" Keshiga asked

"They should be fine" Norie said taking a sip of tea

**ooo**

"Eek" Klein muttered in fear as a large serpent like monster with two large arms and a heavily armored front roared in rage.

"Geh…." Kirito muttered also in fear next to Klein as the large boss of the 56th floor started chasing after them. "Nooooo!" he yelped as he started running away from it with Klein right by his side.

"Onii Chans!" A young girl called out. It was Ruru, a local NPC of the town «Pani», "Quick, hurry and get over here!" she waved from the large wooden gates.

Running as fast as they can, Kirito and Klein made it past the gates.

"Okay, shut it!" A player said as soon as the two made it through, "Now!" The large boss known as the «Geocrawler» crashed into the gates with a loud bang as the notice «Immortal Object» kept popping up. It waited and waited patiently for the gate to open.

"So it's a failure huh, the grand meaty meat plan." Kirito said.

"Ugh… there goes my A-Class ingredient…" Klein replied in disappointment.

The floor was thought to be peaceful with nothing noteworthy, but the clearing party can't deal with the «Geocrawler» field boss and progress on completing the floor has been rendered stuck for about a week now.

It's getting harder now to even try since the amount of player participating have dwindled because of the recent increase of mob spawns in the fields around the town.

Slamming her hand onto the table, "Just how many times do you intend to try these ridiculous plans?!" Asuna scolded Kirito and Klein.

"Nah, I really had confidence in it this time you know" Klein replied with a grin

"None here" Kirito bluntly said.

"Save your excuses, I will have you, under the command of the KoB, agree on the next plan" Asuna resolved with her crossed arms. Asuna's plan was to lure the «Geocrawler» into the town without closing the gates, that way; it would be distracted by the NPC's while the clearing party takes it out by attacking its rear.

"That's crazy!" Kirito objected as he thought about the innocent NPC Ruru.

"The NPC's are nothing more than objects. No matter how many times they're slaughtered, they will be reborn after twenty-four hours after all. "

"Hold it right there! Of course, Miss sub leader here has a higher level than those of us screwing around the entire time, yes?! It may be rude of me to say, but I want to make sure!" Klein interrupted.

"I did reach 70 just yesterday after all." Asuna replied trying to search for Klein's edge

"Well sorry now! I'm still 67, But! Sad to say, but I'm 4 below this guy here!" Klein continued slamming his palm on Kirito's shoulder.

"Wha…" Asuna muttered

"I really don't plan to force my opinion through the difference in levels. Just that… is clearing simply using the fastest and most efficient method to defeat the boss? Abandoning slow-leveling comrades, killing NPCs, wouldn't these means cause y our most important parameter… your heart to get tainted?" Kirito explained.

_Don't you dare look at me with those pitying eyes!" _Asuna thought making a fist around her heart out of anger, "Those words! I'll have you back them up with your sword!"

"Woah! For real?" A player whispered

"It's KoB's Asuna the Flash and the strongest of the solo players Kirito, the Black Swordsman, you know. Damn this event's gonna be amazing" Another said.

"S…sorry Kirito, I didn't think it would turn out like this… Don't go for it, that's the sub leader of the KoB you're up against." Klein apologized with a ghastly look on his face.

"You sure took your time to think of that, well, I'm fine with it." Kirito pressed the accept button.

**ooo**

"Oh boy I'm so beat" Moto complained flexing his sore punching arm as the guild wandered through the streets of «Pani» looking for a place, preferably player owned, to have dinner. They decided to eat out today and take some of the load off Sakai's shoulders for one night.

"Well, now at least our EXP gain is much better than before. " Norie said pulling her arms behind her head.

"Hey wait up! I don't wanna miss it either!" A few players called out as they ran past the guild and made a turn at the street ahead.

"This is gonna make some good news for tomorrows headline!"

"This is bigger than the duel with Heathcliff!"

"Hey… what's going on?" Hana asked managing to nip one of the running players by the collar.

"You don't know?" He replied, "The sub leader of the KoB and The Black Swordsman Kirito are dueling!"

"What?" Sachi was quite intrigued by what he had said as she started sprinting to the building as to where everyone was gathering. There was a blur of motions executed clearly by the "Flash" Asuna. Sachi had seen her fight before, so she knew. The one against Asuna was a boy garbed in black parrying the blows as best he could, Kirito.

"Did anyone win yet?" Keshiga followed up as the guild caught up.

"Not yet…" Sachi wasn't even sure who would win. They were so evenly matched that it was difficult to tell.

"That lucky Asuna" Hana muttered under her breath, "Getting to duel Kirito like that"

It looked as if Asuna had the upper hand with her intense speed, but even faster than the blink of an eye, there was a single strike. One single gust of wind was felt followed by the words _**Finish! Winner is Kirito!**_

**ooo**

Sulking to herself, Asuna sat alone by the fountain, _"Ugh, losing to a technique outside the system like that, why could he use a combat style like that…? Why could he simply..laugh..like…that…"_

Light footsteps sounded as Asuna looked up. It was Ruru. "Onee-chan, you can't sleep?"

"Y-yes." Asuna replied, _"So there was a conversation pattern like this for this NPC huh? I wonder what was the flag that triggered it…"_

"Then… Ruru will sing a lullaby for you!"

_The southern traveling musician with a lute in his hand, with a brush of silver threads , La, lala, sleep awaits. Village chief with his long beard, weapon shop, uncle of greed, kids running through the plaza, a black cat up on the roof, a robin singing atop of tree, even the serpent armoured in iron, da, dada, dada, dada, everyone's asleep…_

"_Serpent…armoured in iron?" _Asuna thought before she suddenly realized, "_This is the key to beating the boss!"_

There were some requirements to play the lullaby; first off, you needed a master lute player. Keshiga eagerly volunteered for this role. Next, you needed a good singer, which Irina took. Next step is to stay at the very edge of the target area of effect of the skill.

Immediately when they started play, the «Geocrawler» fell asleep on the spot.

"It's that easy?!" Sachi exclaimed with a whisper as the vanguard party crept up on the field boss. Kirito, Asuna, Klein's guild, a couple of players, and a few from the Black Cats including Sachi, Norie, and Keshiga surrounded it before Kirito gave the signal to strike.

Keshiga called out lively, "57th Floor here we come!"

**A/N: Hell hello everyone, sorry about the long period of no updates, but school kicked in and my creative juices aren't in the best shape right now. This should be clear in this current chapter as I believe I rushed it quite a bit, but I sure hope I did well this time. I just wanted to publish a chapter so yea. Lots of cameo's this chapter, I was originally going to add Lisbeth, but there weren't any good calls, so I'll save her for some other time.**

**Just a few questions I want to ask the reader,**

**How do you think I'm doing so far?**

**Do you think the quality of my story is good?**

**Are the OC's enjoyable and unique?**

**Do events flow very nicely?**

**These questions don't just apply to this chapter; they can apply to the whole story. I would appreciate if you answer these in your reviews as it will surely make me a much better writer than I am right now.**

**I originally wanted to go with a tournament style thing, but I scratched it since it didn't really work out with me, and events didn't flow very nicely with future chapters, so I decided with a territory system that kind of tied with the SAO ME:1. Also, I do not claim the dialogue from the last portion with Klein, Kirito, and Asuna as my own. They are not my creations and credit goes to their respective authors. **

**Again, always leave your feedback, good or bad. So, have a good read, enjoy, and more chapters to come!**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18 – Laughter of the Coffin

**April 21, 2024 – Aincrad 56th Floor**

"_There's no time…any minute now, he could be gone!" _

This thought was desperately running through Taru's mind as he raced through the forest. Panting and panting, with tears flowing out of his eyes out of the anguish of uncertainty, he ran as fast as he could. This was one of the times he wished he ranked his AGI more as he tripped over a loose root falling to the floor.

"I-I can't stop now!" He hastily got back up not bothering to dust himself off as the rocky figure of cave passage formed down the path. Next to that cave was a small group of people seemingly sitting down for a picnic.

"Hey! It's Taru!" Keshiga called out raising his sandwich with a wave.

"Why is he running?" Moto asked.

Norie was waving also, but noticed something off, Taru usually never runs unless he's desperate, "Something happened" she said as she got up and raced towards Taru.

"Norie! Norie!" He cried with a catch in his throat before skidding onto his knees before her, "You-you- ha-have to- help!"

"Taru, Taru! Calm down, what's wrong?" Norie asked gripping his arms to try to get him up. "Tell me"

"It-it's Ruth! He's missing!" Taru desperately said before going into another outburst of tears.

Ruth was the cocky one of the «Errand Knights» He's the one that usually wants to solve things by using force and still holds a slight grudge against the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon». But ironically, he and Taru are really good friends.

With Taru sobbing uncontrollably, Norie couldn't help but hug him gently, "C'mon, calm down Taru, it'll be alright. Try to calm down and explain the rest to us"

Upon calming down a bit, Taru explained that Ruth had gone missing a day ago after he said he would go patrol the borders of their territory. After a few hours, he never returned, so the «Errand Knights» looked around the area to search for him. The searching went by, and some of the members assumed that he died, so Leah went to check the «Monument of Life» back on the 1st floor. The name Ruth wasn't crossed out. So he was still somewhere in «Aincrad», but the main question was on which floor was he on?

He said he would start around the «Errand Knights» and «Occult Frenzy» border, «Occult Frenzy» was a guild north of «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» territory and they were the guild that Ruth was most weary of. Maybe they could start there first.

"Could he have left anything behind?" Sachi asked squatting on the ground in search of anything small with her limited «Searching» skill.

"I'm not picking anything up" Irina replied scouting the area. Now Irina's «Searching» skill was vastly superior to anyone else's in the guild.

"I-I just can't bear the t-thought of what might happen to him" Taru started sobbing again.

"Don't worry Taru, we'll find him" Norie assured

"We're not getting anything." Keshiga added, "Is there any other way of trying to find him? Have you tried messaging him?"

"I've tried messaging him hundreds of times, but he won't respond." Taru said shaking his head while sniffling his nose, "I-I just don't know how else to search for him."

Thinking to herself, Norie looked around a bit while rummaging through her inventory. "I wonder…. Does the «Errand Knights» use «Location Crystals»?"

«Location Crystals» were a certain type of crystal that enables the owner to know that another registered user in your «Location Crystal» contact list is within your proximity. This will notify you by the crystal glowing brighter the closer you are to someone else.

"«Location Crystal»?" Taru asked not really knowing what she was talking about.

"Yes" Sachi replied taking hers out. It was a light green crystal shard that fit snugly in the palm of your hand. If you activated it, it would float a little bit and point in the direction that the nearest known «Location Crystal» holder was. Sachi made it mandatory for everyone to have one. It was just another precautionary measure to protect her guild mates. Besides, she instigated it ever since Moto got lost back in February on the 53rd Floor.

"Oh!" Taru's face lit up as he checked his inventory, "You mean this?" he asked taking out a crystal similar to it, but with a difference in shape.

"Ahh, mhm, that's it" Keshiga examined closely while comparing it with his own.

"Leah told us to hold onto it in case we ever get lost" Taru added as he held it up and turned to multiple directions. It didn't glow.

"There's a certain radius that it has to be in" Norie explained, "Maybe we should roam the floor"

**ooo**

First order of business was to eliminate the outskirts of the floor, which was going to take quite a bit of time. Not only were some parts deep into unfamiliar guild territory, but the floor was quite mountainous along the northern and western portion, so they just gave up and scourged the areas around town.

"I'm starting to think he's not on this floor" Ellen commented as Sachi, Keshiga, Norie, Taru, and she prowled down the streets of «Pani » to look for a place to rest and eat.

"Then where could he be?!" Taru asked teary eyed as he started sobbing again.

"Look, we know that he's not on this floor, and there's an unlikely chance that he's on the next floor, or any of the near floors" Norie said as she rubbed Taru's shoulder in complete empathy, she understood how it felt to be uncertain about a loved one's condition, "Did anyone have any grudges against him?"

Taru shook his head before wiping a few tears from his eyes, "Everyone i-in the guild was fr-friendly with him. But he did quarrel a lot with «Occult Frenzy»"

"Hmm, that does open the possibilities. There might be chance that «Occult Frenzy» did something to take him out" Sachi suggested

"Are they willing to turn into a «Red Player» just to take out one guy?" Keshiga asked, "They could just file a harassment warning on him and take it to «Black Iron Castle»"

"Who said they would do the dirty work themselves?" Norie countered, "It is a good possibility, but I'm not sure an entire guild would agree on something like this. Killing a player and all."

"That's true…" Sachi added, "Taru?"

Taru didn't respond, instead, his focus was on the faintly glowing «Location Crystal». With his eyes wide with uncontained excitement, he activated it and it pointed towards the center of town.

"Taru?" she asked again, but Taru responded by sprinting in the direction that the crystal directed.

"Ruth…Ruth… Ruth!" Taru muttered under his heavy breathing as he turned the corners, of the small streets of «Pani». The «Location Crystal» grew brighter and brighter as he approached the central square, and out of the darkness, he saw a figure wearing the same silver green armor as he.

"Ruth!" he screamed as loud as the voice system allowed before he started running towards the figure with open arms.

"Is that really him?!" Ellen exclaimed with surprise.

"The crystal doesn't lie" Norie added as they followed him.

"Ruth! I was so worried about you!"

The figure turned around, and slowly, Taru's excitement turned into realization, and then anguish as the long dark flowing hair blew with the gesture of the figure.

"Taru?" Leah asked as she watched him run towards her with outstretched arms.

"Leah?!" Taru abruptly stopped completely startled as everyone became as surprised as he was.

"Bu-but why is t-the crystal g-glowing?!" Taru stammered pointing desperately at his glowing green crystal.

"Maybe because I gave one to each member of the guild?"

"Oh… false alarm then…." He said lowly before sulking.

"Look Taru….I've been doing some snooping around and I might have a possible lead on Ruth's whereabouts" Leah said turning slightly towards the fountain.

"Really?!" Everyone asked with subtle anticipation.

"Wha-what do you know Leah?!" Taru asked with his face lightening up a bit.

"There's a slight possibility that «Occult Frenzy» might be related to the case we have at hand." Leah said pushing her long black hair back causing it to sway gently."One of the members was acting very suspicious at the «Territory Council Meeting»"

"So Sachi's guess was partly right" Ellen said pointing a thumb towards Sachi.

Nodding in reply, "So what should we do? Should we confront them head on about this? Or do we snoop around like ninja's?" Keshiga asked while doing a few cliché karate chops in the air.

"That's a good question" Leah responded as she crossed her arms and leaned on one leg with her side turned towards the group.

"Going straight to them and using force might be too confrontational, and playing the sleuth around them might make us suspicious. I say we should sit down and ask them nicely. If they refuse to answer, then we'll know what's up" Norie suggested as she took her cap off and smoothed out her hair. "But I guess we can wait until tomorrow" she added noticing Ellen yawn loudly.

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House**

"Ugu, my legs are sore…" Keshiga commented while reclining wholly on the couch.

"That's why you fly!" Ellen hollered as she dropped from the air slamming into his stomach in a sitting position.

Watching Ellen's usual antics, Sachi sighed as she watched the sulking figure of Taru glare broodingly into the fireplace.

"Will he be okay?" Futaro asked directing his attention from his book.

"He'll be okay" Norie assured as Sakai brought a tray of tea.

"Drink some, it'll help you feel better" Sakai urged as she held a mug close to Taru with a warm smile.

"Ah…thank you" Taru replied rather dully as he held the cup with both hands. Occasionally, he would take a sip followed by an exasperated sigh.

After a little while more, Taru got up. Placing the mug gently on the coffee table, "I'm going to bed" he muttered as he headed towards Norie's room. Taru had placed a temporary leave with the «Errand Knights» until he found out what had happened with Ruth. So, Norie offered for him to stay with them until the mystery is solved.

"He's taking this pretty rough isn't he?" Keshiga asked as he watched the head low figure of Taru disappear into the dark hallway.

"I've seen him go through similar" Norie crossed her arms.

"_Norie!" Taru's crying voice wailed through the alley. "Norie! It's Pom! He's missing!"_

"_Pom?" The 12 year old Norie asked as Taru as he cried uncontrollably in her arms. "You mean your pet dog?"_

"_Yes! He's missing… we have to find him!" Taru begged as he bowed on the ground folding his hands, "Norie… please!" _

_Kneeling down to touch his head, "You crying there isn't going to help us find him does it?" Norie smiled, "C'mon, we have to find your dog"_

_Maybe hours passed of them calling out the name Pom over and over, and as loud as their little 12 year old voice boxes could allow them to, but they found nothing. Thunder cracked and rain started to pour as the pair walked slowly down the street._

"_We'll find him don't worry Taru" Norie muttered bringing Taru closer to her. Through the sound of heavy rain and roaring thunder, there was a low whimpering coming from the alley nearby followed by a ferocious snarling and barking._

_Running as fast as he could, Taru turned the corner and couldn't breathe at the site. Maybe the site of a stray dog scared the wits out of anyone, but watching that same dog biting and ripping at something you loved not only scared the wits out of Taru, but it killed a part of him inside as he stood there paralyzed by his emotions. Lying on the floor was the bloodied figure of a smaller dog whimpering very quietly in the damp alley rain. _

"_Get away from him!" Norie yelled in anger as she picked up a nearby pipe and ran towards the stray. Striking it once, it yelped out of fear and ran away in the opposite direction. Taking steady and deep breaths, Norie knelt down gently and picked up the heavily wounded friend. She made her way slowly to the cringing figure of Taru as a trail of blood and rain water dripped behind her._

_Taking his closest friend next to Norie in his hands, Taru let the stream of tears flow as he watched Pom moan silently. Pom whimpered one last time before licking a salty tear off Taru's cheek, and his body suddenly became cold in Taru's hands. Man's best friend, even to the end._

**ooo**

Sleeping on the couch wasn't as uncomfortable as Norie thought as she laid there with Ellen's head tucked behind her arm. Of course, she wasn't wearing her battle equipment at the moment and was wearing a comfortable looking purple sleeveless blouse, and pajama shorts. Norie stirred lightly, as she slowly got up. She felt a presence nearby, an eerie one by that matter. Draping the remainder blanket onto Ellen, Norie kissed her head before listening around. Very faint footsteps were heard outside, but Norie couldn't be sure since her «Hearing» wasn't as well trained as Sachi's. Other than that, she indeed made much use of her «6th Sense» and her gut told her there was someone around.

Opening the front door silently, Norie stepped quietly into the cool air of spring. Looking left, then right, she saw no one. Tiptoeing to her right, she stood close to the wall. The raw stone was cold on her bare feet, but she couldn't afford to make noise with shoes. Hanging around at the edge of the wall a bit, she looked around the corner and turned her «Night Vision» on. There was no one. Creeping her way down to the other side of the house, she did the same as the first. Only this time, she caught sight of a cliché cloaked figure leaning against the wall navigating the menu.

After a bit, the figure closed the menu and started walking in the opposite direction away from Norie. Making sure the coast was clear, Norie trailed after him in quiet pursuit. Keeping him about 10 meters away, Norie hid behind anything she could, lamp posts, trees, brushes, all the like. Back in her old noob helping days, leveling up hiding was quite essential when keeping an eye on them. Apparently, her hiding wasn't enough as the figure burst out running.

"Oh no you don't!" Norie muttered sprinting after him. This guy sure invested into AGI because Norie had a hard time keeping up. Norie herself didn't focus on AGI since she didn't really need to react quickly because of her «Parry» level. Huffing and puffing, the mysterious prowler sharply turned a corner into the plaza of town. Following up a couple of seconds later, Norie saw no trace of him.

"Where did he go?" Norie asked aloud as she scoffed under her breath.

"Hahaha! You're guild is going up the wrong alley, I would stay out of this if I were you" A voice said with a chilling coarseness.

"Show yourself!" Norie demanded before a black square piece of paper drifted through the air in front of her. Taking it in her hands, she stared ominously. There was only an insignia strewn on it, a coffin with a strange slightly smiling face on it accompanied with a skeletal arm.

"It seems I know who's getting their hands dirty now…" Norie muttered.

**ooo**

The sound of the front door opening quietly followed by careful footsteps woke Ellen up. She noticed that Norie's warm body wasn't next to her as she got up to see who came in.

"Norie? Where were you?" Ellen asked with a yawn as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Uh… I was out for a walk" Norie replied with a lie as she sat down on the couch. Stroking Ellen's hair gently, "Let's go back to sleep"

**April 22, 2023 – Aincrad 57****th**** Floor, «Martin»**

"They left this?" Sachi asked as she pointed to the mysterious piece of paper that Norie had presented to them as they made their way through the streets of the 57th Floor of Aincrad. It was around 5:00 P.M. ALT, and they were on their way to grab some dinner before paying the «Occult Frenzy» guild a visit.

"Yes, I'm lead to believe that this guild is related to the incident that we have on hand" Norie replied examining the emblem again. "He warned me that we should stay out of the affair with the «Errand Knights»"

"So whoever this is doesn't want us to get involved" Taru noted in a slightly gloomy voice.

"It's strange though, it feels as if I've seen this before" Norie patted the back of her hand against the paper before folding it and putting it in her pocket.

"Maybe you'll remember if you think hard enough!" Ellen mumbled with a mouth full of cookies.

Norie sighed, and shrugged by raising her hands. "Who knows, serious topics aside, where do you guys want to get some dinner?" she asked, but was followed soon by a loud scream coming from in front of the church.

"What was that?" Keshiga asked as they rushed towards the source. Merging with the small crowd that gathered, they stared in disbelief.

"What the…." Sachi mumbled with her eyes wide open as they witnessed the horrifying sight. A player was hanging on a noose atop the bell tower with a spear impaled in his chest.

"I-is that what I think it is?!" Taru clasped his hand over his mouth. He suddenly felt nauseous.

" Wh-what's going on?!" Norie asked in desperation before someone yelled out

"Hurry and pull it out!"

Looking towards the familiar voice, Sachi saw Kirito and Asuna racing forth to try to get him down.

"Hang on!" he called out.

"Gaaaahh ahhhh!" The player cried out as he kicked his feet a bit before hanging free. Shortly after, his avatar burst. The noose hit the wall with a light thud as the red thorn patterned spear fell to the floor. There were gasps and the scream of a girl among the group as Sachi, Keshiga and Norie stared with blank minds.

"_A duel is the only way to kill a player in a safe zone" _Kirito through to himself looking around, "_That means…"_

"Everyone! Look for the «Duel Winner» notification!"

Then the white and red figure of Asuna appeared from atop the balcony, "There's no one inside" she called from above.

Looking through the crowd, Kirito scanned as fast as his brain could process in search for that notification. He even saw Sachi's face in the crowd, but was too preoccupied to say hello.

**ooo**

"N-Norie, how is this possible?!" Sachi asked trembling. If word about PKing in safe areas got out, no one was safe.

"The only possible way he could have died was through a duel, but you heard Kirito. There were no «Duel Winner» notifications. " Norie said rubbing her chin.

There was a low murmur of mildly shaken players as they waited anxiously for a logical explanation.

"Excuse me" Kirito said after Asuna and he made their way out to address the crowd. "Did anyone see the whole thing? If you did, please speak up"

Again, the low murmur of the players filled the courtyard with rumors and gossip.

"By the time I got here…." Someone spoke as a girl came forth.

"Sorry, I know you've just had a frightening experience, what's your name?" Asuna asked as the girl approached them.

"My name is Yoruko…"

"Was that first scream yours?" Kirito asked.

"Y-yes. I just came here to eat dinner with the man who was killed. His name was Kains. We used to be in the same guild. But we got separated in the plaza. I looked around and I saw him hanging from the Church window…" Yoruko explained as she started to break down into tears.

"Did you see anyone else?" Asuna asked.

"It was just for a second, but I thought I saw someone behind Kains."

"Did that person look familiar"

"No…"

"I hate to ask this but… do you know why anyone would've wanted to kill Kains?" Kirito asked lastly.

Yoruko shook her head.

**ooo**

"If we learn where that spear came from, it might lead us to the perpetrator." Asuna said.

"Then we'll need someone with an appraisal skill. You don't have one obviously"

"Of course not, nor do you" Asuna shot back, "Also must you address me so curtly?"

"Haha, sorry…" Kirito replied as he suggested some names that he could call her.

"Just call me Asuna" she replied as she gave him a disapproving look.

"R-roger. Anyway, do you have any friends with an appraisal skill?"

"Doesn't your weapon merchant friend have it?" Norie asked from behind the pair. "This is her busiest time after all, so it might take a while."

"Norie…" Asuna asked as Norie, Sachi, Keshiga and Taru approached them.

"How's the investigation going?" Sachi asked as Kirito smiled when he saw her.

Waving and patting Sachi on the head, "Well, we have the murder weapon, and that might lead us to our suspect. I have an appraiser, so we'll see him about that next" Kirito explained. "Speaking of which, you guys witnessed the incident right?"

Norie nodded in reply.

"Do you guys have any leads on anything?"

"Sorry" Sachi shook her head.

"We were going to dinner when we heard the scream." Ellen added, "Then we made our way as fast as we could to the courtyard."

"I'm beginning to wonder how he managed to get PK'd without a duel winner screen…" Asuna remarked.

"_PK?!"_ Norie thought to herself as she hastily reached into the pockets of her shorts and pulled out a neatly folded black piece of paper with that ominous emblem on it. The word PK reminded her of it "Asuna, can you make up what this is?" she requested.

Asuna gasped as she widened her eyes. "W-where did you get this..?"

"A strange person was snooping around the house, and after he disappeared, he left this behind."

"This is the «Laughing Coffins» insignia…" Kirito said, "What's going on with you guys? It's dangerous to be associated with that guild. Especially now that rumors about PKing in safe areas is going around. "

"We're dealing with a missing person's investigation. Taru's friend is missing, and we believe that it was a result of the territory disputes around these floors. " Sachi explained.

"Missing person… Murder case in the safe area…." Kirito thought aloud, "There's a possibility that these two incidents are related"

"Related? How?" Keshiga abruptly asked

"I don't know yet, but I'm sure it has something to do with our suspects"

**ooo**

Not letting the safe area incident get in the way of their investigation, Sachi and the group headed towards the «Occult Frenzy» Guild HQ. Using the information that Argo (The Rat) enclosed in a small document, she gave them the name of the guild leader and the location of the guild HQ. All for a fee of course.

The HQ was smaller than they thought; it was only about the same size as the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» guild HQ. Then again, they had no clue as to how large the guild actually was, and maybe they overestimated it.

Knocking on the door about four times, Sachi waited for someone to respond and open the door.

"Maybe they aren't home…" Keshiga said before turning around. Just then, the knob turned, and the door opened.

"Can I help you?" A male voice asked as before them, stood the figure of a rather mid height young man with black hair that hung freely over his head. He wore glasses that gave him a rather serious tone. In combination, he looked like the typical bookworm character from an anime. He was dressed in blue pajamas and looked as if he were going to bed.

"Ah, sorry for bothering you this late but…" Norie started, "Is the guild leader of «Occult Frenzy» in at the moment?"

"Ah, I am he" He replied moving a bit before motioning for them to come in, "What is the purpose of your visit?"

"Sorry for not introducing ourselves first, we are with the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» and «Errand Knights». We would like to talk to you about a missing persons case" Norie said.

Widening his eyes a bit, he nodded as they entered the HQ. "Please, have a seat while I make some tea"

Taking a seat around the centered coffee table, Sachi noticed that there were numerous books strewn about on it. There was also a bunch of papers and notes that contained diagrams and designs for various homes and buildings.

"I'm sorry for the mess, but ever since this game started, I've been jotting down ideas for building designs." The man said as he pushed aside some books and papers and laid a tray of tea on it. "Silly me, I forgot to introduce myself, I assume you already know my name from the information brokers, but I'll tell you anyway. My name is Gandor, and yes, I am the leader of «Occult Frenzy»"

After letting everyone settle in, Gandor asked, "Now what did you want to talk to me about?"

"About that…" Sachi began to say, "A member of the «Errand Knights» has recently gone missing, and we have no idea where he might be. We were wondering if «Occult Frenzy» had anything to do with this."

Crossing his legs, Gandor thought for a moment, "What is the name of the missing member?"

"Ruth" Taru responded

"Ruth…." Gandor repeated, "I'm not sure if he is the one, but about three days ago, a member by the name of Vlad was on border patrol for the day. He was supposed to go with another member, but that other member was running late, so he insisted that he go first. By the time the other member arrived at the starting destination, Vlad was nowhere to be seen. Instead, she only saw the figure of a person running through the forest as fast as he could. The armor was unmistakingly that of the «Errand Knights»." He explained as he pushed his glasses up his nose, "The part that frightened her most was… his cursor was red…"

"T-that couldn't….that couldn't have been… Ruth…" Taru said gravely.

"That's what I thought initially. But I was sure that a player wasn't insane enough to kill a fellow player. So I investigated a bit and went to the «Monument of Life». To my horror, Vlad's name was crossed out. His cause of death…" Gandor paused as he took his glasses of to rub his eyes, "Player Killed by Ruth"

The situation was quite grave as Taru stared at Gandor with desperate eyes, "Y-you a-aren't serious are you…?" he asked

"I'm afraid not" Gandor said sliding a photo towards them, it was a screenshot of the actual stone tablet that held the names of the 10,000 players in SAO. He pointed to the name "Vlad", which was crossed out. It was undeniable proof that Ruth had player killed him.

"It was him then…" Keshiga said as Taru wailed in tears crying on Norie's lap.

"Do you have any idea as to his whereabouts then?" Norie asked.

Gandor shook his head. "I'm sorry, even though it pains a guild leader to lose a member. Seeking revenge is the wrong way to go. I do not believe that «Occult Frenzy» has anything to do with his disappearance. At least, to the most of my knowledge"

Sachi nodded in understanding as she gulped her tea.

"I'm sorry for your loss. I wish I could be of some more help." Gandor apologized with sincerity.

"No.. we should thank you." Norie said gripping Ellen's hand as she got up and motioned for them to go.

"Thank you for the tea" Keshiga bowed.

Gandor nodded and waved before pushing his glasses up his nose, "Good luck with your search"

**ooo**

"Well, that was a bust" Keshiga said patting the gloomy Taru on the back in comfort, "Don't worry bud, we'll find him"

"I h-hope so…" Taru replied as the band of friends made their way down the street.

"Excuse me… but are you with the «Errand Knights»?" A female voice asked from behind them.

Turning to look, a rather short girl with burgundy hair dressed in a very elegant frilly Gothic Lolita dress that hung over her knees approached them with seemingly unmoving lips.

"Yes" Sachi nodded, "And you are?"

"My name is Catherine; I am a member of «Occult Frenzy». I was the one who was supposed to go on border patrol with Vlad that day. I know it's not in my place to say, but, it concerns the disappearance of your friend." Catherine began saying turning to her sides checking her back.

Everyone turned their attention to what the girl had to say.

"He could be anywhere, but another member of the guild named Bordac has been acting strange lately. He was the closest to Vlad, and ever since his death, Bordac hasn't been himself. He's been so reclusive; it's as if he's hiding something. He's been gone missing a couple hours out of the day too, but he never tells us where he goes. And when we ask him, he just casts us away like we were trash. I'm worried, not only as a friend, but as the sub guild leader." She explained as she constantly looked around in an extremely paranoid manner. "Please, find out what he's doing. I don't want him to get into trouble"

"We'll try our best" Norie assured giving a nod of approval.

"Be weary of him, he's fast, and elusive. He knows I'm suspicious of him" Catherine said.

"I think it would be best for you to stay in safe zones until we get to the bottom of this." Keshiga added.

"Do you know where he might be?" Sachi asked.

Catherine nodded, "Yes, last night I managed to catch him reading his messages. "

**April 18, 2024**

"_Perhaps he was just going through post death trauma" I thought to myself as I gulped my tea in front of the fireplace. It was quiet as usual except for the subtle sounds of the low crackle of the fire, Gandor turning the pages of his books, the lead of his pencil scraping against paper. _

_Yawning like a cat, "I'm going to bed" I said as I got up._

"_Good night" Gandor replied in his usual cool self_

_Walking down the hallway of the second floor of the guild living quarters, I noticed Bordac's door was open. "He's home…" I thought to myself as a crept up slowly and silently to the door. My «Hiding» is the best out of the guild, so it was unlikely that he heard me. Peeking through the crack of his door, I saw him, sitting silently on his bed navigating through his menu. Specifically, his messages. My «Scanning» was suburb also, so I took advantage of this opportunity to see what was going on with Bordac._

_The first message said, _

_**Meet me on the 57**__**th**__** Floor, in the alley next to the in on the east side of town on the 23**__**rdt**__**at 4:00 A.M. ALT; we'll discuss the payment there.**_

_**PoH**_

_At first, I didn't really understand. Who would he be meeting? Does this have anything to do with his untimely disappearances? Is he partaking in malicious activity? All these questions span in my head over and over until Bordac turned with a sign of paranoia in his eyes. Luckily, I noticed in time and managed to spin to the side quickly. Holding my breath with my heart skipping a beat, a rushed hastily down the hall and towards my room._

_Opening the door sounded so loud in the dark of the night, and through my desperate ears rang the echo of the clicking of the knob. Releasing the pent up air in my chest, I heaved outward and gulped in some fresh air. Panting and panting, I dropped to my bed in wonder. So many things were spinning through my head that it made me dizzy, what situation could Bordac have gotten himself into? All of us mourned the death of Vlad, but this kind of behavior was beyond normal. _

_Perhaps… I should….approach him… in the… morning…. I said drowsily to myself before my eyes closed themselves._

**ooo**

"PoH…." Norie said with a slight grave look on her face as she wiped a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her head.

"Norie?" Ellen asked taking notice.

"Who's PoH?" Keshiga leaned forward towards her with complete ignorance to the escalated level of seriousness that enshrouded with incident.

Norie trembled a bit as she took her cap off. "H-he…" she stammered. Norie usually never stammers when she says something, "PoH is th-the leader o-of the «Laughing Coffin»"

Those last few words pierced the wills of everyone that heard them as Sachi gasped with fear. The dreaded red player killing guild, the «Laughing Coffin». Affiliating yourself with that guild meant you ran the risk of not only paying the price of their player killing services, but being back stabbed by them. In turn, you could lose everything, even your life.

Clasping her hands over her mouth, Catherina gagged as she dropped to her knees. "D-does that mean…?"

"We don't know yet…" Sachi said as she tried to help Catherine up, "We'll get to the bottom of this Catherine, just try to stay around people when you sleep to avoid sleep PK's, okay?"

Catherine nodded weakly as Sachi escorted her back to her guild.

"The «Laughing Coffin»…" Taru said in a despairing tone, "You don't suppose… that he's employing the «Laughing Coffin» do you Norie?!"

"I'm not sure I understand…." Norie raised an eyebrow to try to piece together what was happening.

"It's simple!" Keshiga filled her in, "You see, Bordac is a close friend of Vlad just like Taru is a close friend of Ruth. Thus, once Bordac got word that Vlad was killed by Ruth, he was so overcome by anger that he resolute to kill Ruth. But it would be plain obvious to everyone if he killed Ruth with his own hands. So to keep attention away from himself, he would employ the service of the «Laughing Coffin» instead to do the dirty work for him." He explained

"Ah! So the meeting tomorrow is for the payment, so they kept Ruth alive until they could get the transaction underway." Norie patted Keshiga on the head as a sign of his good intuition.

As Sachi returned with the group, Norie summed up the clues that they had uncovered today. The only thing they still don't know is the whereabouts of Ruth. They know the reasons as to why he disappeared, the perpetrator behind all these events, and a definite time and place to intervene.

"We still have no clue where he is though" Taru disappointingly said as sighed and started to tear up again.

"Our perp might know the answer" Norie replied as she wrapped an arm around him like usual, "We'll find him Taru, this time, we won't be too late." It's a shame that not all promises can be kept.

**April 23, 2024**

Hiding behind a barrel, Sachi stood lookout near the designated location garbed with a brown cloak and covered by the cast shadow of the night. She also had a description of their suspect. Bordac had short orange hair with a neatly trimmed goatee. There was also something that stood out about him; he was a left handed sword use, so his sheath would be along the right portion of his body. Then again, all these descriptions were pointless since no one was out at this time of day.

The silence of the evening filled the narrow street with a mellow vibe. Sachi could only imagine at this time of day, people would be rummaging through shops, eating some lunch, or going on dates. It wasn't unusual for couples to arise in SAO. Take Sachi and Keshiga for example; though they haven't been formally "dating" for the past year, many people who knew them would consider the pair a couple. Come to think of it, Sachi's chain of thoughts actually led her to a scene of them kissing.

"_W-what am I thinking?!" _Sachi asked herself as she blushed slightly and shook her head out of embarrassment. Amidst her mini-episode, Norie's voice filled her ears.

"Sachi, you get any sign of our suspect yet?" Norie asked from the third floor of the inn. She was peering out the window of the targeted alley, and she had a perfect view of the area. Ellen was also staking out above Norie on the rooftop. Keshiga was in the opposite end of the alley from Sachi, and Hana, Taru and Irina were on hold nearby in case things got out of hand.

"Everything's clear here" Keshiga said trying his best to stay still in his seat. He was sitting at an outdoor patio in front of a coffee shop nearby with a steaming cup of coffee stimulating his unrest. It was a good thing NPC's would respond anytime if a person entered their shops.

"Nothing here" Sachi replied with a whisper, as all of them were connected by a single chat session. Just then, there were three blue lights that appeared in the middle of the alley. Three blue lights that accompanied three red cursors. Ducking down, Norie cautiously peeked her head out trying her best to conceal herself. Scanning her targets, she saw that ominous logo on their arms.

"The «Laughing Coffin»…" she whispered as goosebumps ran down her spine. "I have sights on three targets, it's the «Laughing Coffin»"

"Got it" Sachi replied as she looked to both sides. At the corner of her eye to the right, she caught sight of her target. Wearing a cloak with the hood pulled up, Bordac walked cautiously down the street approaching Sachi from her right. It was difficult to make out his hair, and his goatee was partially covered, but what gave him away was the way his sheath was orientated. His was sheathed on his right just like Norie, but he also wore a ring on the index finger of his sword hand, his left. It shone bright in the moonlight, giving away the obvious. It was a grave mistake that would lead to his downfall.

As Bordac hit Sachi, she held her breath, and stayed as still and quiet as a mouse. Peeking out from behind her hiding spot, she saw Bordac turn to his right into the curved alley. Waiting until he was out of sight, Sachi followed slowly.

"Target spotted" Sachi whispered as she cupper her hand around her ear to activate the chat lobby feature.

"I have him in my sights" Norie replied from atop, still staying low.

"You're late" One of the red cursor players said. His face was partially covered by his hood, so one could not get a good look of his eyes.

"Sorry, I was making sure that no one saw me. Especially that pesky Sub Leader of mine." Bordac replied with a sinister grin.

After hearing this, the hairs on Norie's neck as she whispered into her chat, "Irina! Are you there?"

"Loud and clear" Irina replied.

"Listen, I need you to go to the «Occult Frenzy» guild house now! When you get there, ask them if Catherine is okay. Once you get word, relay it back to me immediately."

"Got it" Irina replied followed by the whizzing sound of a «Teleportation Crystal» being used. Shortly following this, a notification screen appeared that said "Player «Irina» is out of range. Chat disconnected"

Focusing her attention back below, Norie kept watch as she got her «Jailer Crystal» ready. «Jailer Crystals» were special crystals specifically designed to capture player(s) and automatically send them to «Black Iron Castle» to await prosecution and send a message containing the accusation to the judge (A player). There also has to be proof that accompanies the message that could be in the form of screenshots and etc.

Not forgetting about that, Norie opened her menu and pressed the screenshot feature. Focusing her sight on the gathering, she pressed the "Take Screenshot" button a few times and the same number of images appeared.

"Now, about the payment" The first player said raising his arm in demand.

"I got it covered" Bordac said getting a large bag of Col out and lumping it onto the man's hand. "Two million Col. It's my life savings, but it's worth it. Vlad's death will be avenged"

"Hahahaha!" The one on the man's left started laughing hysterically, "Revenge? It's a sham! Why kill to get back at someone when you can kill for fun?! Eh PoH? Eh?" he asked nudging the middle man with his elbow.

"Try to act professional for once XaXa will ya?" The one to PoH's right said smacking him on the back of his head.

"Ow! Now what was that for?!" XaXa whined raising a fist up.

"Shut up you two, we're in the middle of a deal. Now, I trust that you know the guilt that comes with knowing that you ended the life of a player?" PoH warned as he concealed the sack of money in his cloak.

Bordac nodded, "I would be more worried about guilt if I were you. You're doing the actual killing"

"I may be doing the actual killing, but you are the one who holds the gun in his hand. I am simply the gun. And you do understand that whatever happens to you as a result of these events, we are not responsible for your safety." PoH warned additionally.

"Don't worry about it! I made sure that Catherine didn't follow me" Bordac replied with cockiness.

Just then, a message popped up for Norie. It was from Irina, and it read: _Catherine is fine, but she's been inflicted with heavy sleep. Someone might've laced her meal with a sleeping concoction because she was knocked out cold during a training session. _

Sighing out of relief, "Thank goodness" she whispered.

"Then the deal is done. We will take care of him within due time." PoH said.

"Ohhh! Can I take him out! He's been squirming there for days now and jabbing my knife into him will feel soooo good!" XaXa asked getting extremely jittery.

"No XaXa" PoH replied, "We have other targets to take care of first off. Specifically, three of them. I'll let Tsurugi take care of him."

"That lucky bastard! Getting a target all to himself like that" XaXa complained as the three of them took «Teleportation Crystals» out.

"I'm sorry that we can't take him out sooner, but we are quite busy at the moment, and clients that came to us first get their deals done first. " PoH said raising his «Teleportation Crystal» up. "And by the way, you were followed." He said lastly before a blue light engulfed all three of them.

"Followed?!" Bordac asked aloud with extreme shock as he looked all around. Hastily pulling a «Teleportation Crystal» out, his trembling hands kept shaking that it took him longer to get one out.

"Now!" Norie said into their voice chat lobby as she gripped Ellen and jumped out the window with a «Jailer Crystal» gripped firmly in hand.

"What the?!" Bordac asked as he looked up, then to the sides of the alley where he saw Sachi and Keshiga rushing towards him and Norie falling from above. Raising his crystal up, he muttered a few words.

"_We won't reach him in time_!" Norie thought to herself as she fell midair from the third story of the inn. At the rate she's falling, he would already be gone. Unsure of what to do, she reached back with Ellen in hand and threw her trusty sword forward.

"H-hey! Norie!" Ellen whined as her physical body disappeared into her sword "home".

It seemed close, but Norie was a fraction of a second late as a blue light engulfed Bordac and he disappeared.

"Damn!" Norie swore as her feet hit the floor with a loud thud.

"Norie!" Keshiga called out as he and Sachi caught up.

"We're too late…" Sachi said, "Now how are we supposed to catch him?"

Smashing her fist against the cold brick wall of the alley, Norie swore again. "I don't know….He was our only lead… and I lost him!" she yelled out in frustration, "Now Taru's...Taru's going to experience the same thing over again…and it's all my fault"

"Norie… don't blame yourself" A voice said from an unknown source as Taru's rather soft spoken appearance approached them. "You've always been there for me… an-and… I can never pay you back for all the times you've helped me. But I-I just wanted to say how grateful I am for you" he continued, dropping to his knees as he started to weep. Gripping Norie's hand with both his own, "Thank you" he managed to say with all the catches in his throat.

"Taru…." Norie said softly as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry. I tried my best"

"I know" Taru replied with a bit more crying. After a couple of minutes, he managed to dry up and stand. Sighing deeply, "I need some time alone." He said turning around.

"Taru, where are you going?" Ellen asked tugging on his cloak with complete innocence.

Turning around and placing his hand on Ellen's head, "I'm going to «Black Iron Castle»"

"Why?" Sachi asked as she tilted her head

Norie gasped with realization, "To check to see if Ruth is dead or not!"

"How would that help us now?" Keshiga wondered.

"Hello? Don't you understand? I know where Bordac is!" Norie shouted out as she burst out running.

"W-wait! Norie!" Sachi called out as they followed in pursuit.

"W-what do you mean you know where Bordac is?" Taru asked trying his best to keep up.

"It's simple! He wants to make sure he's got his money's worth!" Norie said as they approached the «Transfer Gate». As they approached said gate, Norie called out, "Teleport! «Starting City»!" and they were engulfed in a blue light.

**Aincrad 1****st**** Floor – «Starting City»**

The ever so familiar medieval scenes of the town where all this began streamed through the sights of the group as Norie led the way through to «Black Iron Castle».

"Get's his money's worth? What does that mean?" Keshiga asked while almost tripping on a small plateau of stone floor.

"She means that he wants to make sure that the «Laughing Coffin» keeps their end of the deal!" Sachi filled him in on what Norie had revealed.

"That's right! And where do you go if you want to see if a player is dead or not?" Norie asked rhetorically, "«Monument of Life!»" Ellen replied enthusiastically as she glided right next to Norie. She led the way straight across the central plaza and towards a small room that resembled that of a mausoleum of some sort.

"Now if my assumption is spot on, our culprit should be…" Norie said as she slid straight into the open entrance of the building. Skidding a bit she yelled out, "Here!" and the room echoed loudly with her voice. There was a huge stone slab with blurs of carvings and crossed out words in the room.

Someone yelped once they heard Norie's voice.

"I knew it!" Norie pointed at Bordac as she approached him with Ellen drawn.

"H-how did you find out?!" Bordac asked as he backed up in fear reaching into the sleeve of his cloak.

"Oh no you don't!" Norie replied throwing Ellen at his arm, causing a shockwave that knocked him back. In safe areas, the «AREA» took place where players could not hurt other players HP unless through a duel. But you could still swing weapons at them, in return, which causes a shockwave that pushes them back very uncomfortably.

A loud clank was heard as a blue «Corridor Crystal» hit the floor. Desperately reaching for it, Bordac felt another shockwave hit him as he saw Sachi slash at him once with her fabled «Fragarach».

"Leave the act, we all know what you've been up to and we have the evidence to prove it" Keshiga said.

"Now tell us, where is Ruth?" Norie asked as she calmly picked up Ellen.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Bordac replied before he felt another powerful shockwave knock his air out.

"Tell us! You haven o where else to run!" Norie demanded as she pulled out the screenshots and showed them to him. "We have you cornered.

"Haha….hahahaha!" Bordac laughed out loud, "You can't possibly prove anything with these! It's too dark to tell if that's me! Besides! You can't even see my face!"

Norie bit her tongue at his backlash. It was true, this was quite useless evidence.

"You're wrong…" Sachi said still holding her sword pointed at him, "There's clear proof that it's you." She picked up the paper screenshot and pointed at a silvery object on his left hand."The ring"

Bordac's eyes became wide as he instantly held his left hand up to see. Gasping in fear, he hastily tried to unequip it.

"It's too late" Keshiga stepped in, "I already got a screenshot of it" he grinned as he pulled out another picture. It was Bordac, with his left hand raised clear and in the open for everyone to see. The ring that he wore was clearly visible.

Bordac sat there with a gaping mouth and a hint of despair in his eyes as he hung his head low. "I guess it's over…."

"It is. Now tell us where Ruth is" Norie stood in front of him.

Looking up with a maniacal grin on his face, Bordac spoke, "He's where all this started….But! You're too late! " He started laughing and laughing manically case he rolled on the floor, "Finally! Revenge will be mine!"

Norie scowled in disgust as she held her «Jailer Crystal» out and activated it. Within the blink of an eye, Bordac was engulfed in an orange light and disappeared.

"The place where all this started…." Norie asked herself before Taru exclaimed,

"He's still alive!" Pointing frantically to the name Ruth on the «Monument of Life», Taru couldn't help but smile with gladness.

"Alive?! Then we're not too late!" Keshiga replied about to make a run for it before he realized, "Wait… where is he exactly?"

"The place where this whole incident started, the 56th floor!" Sachi said.

**Aincrad 56****th**** Floor**

This was possibly the fastest that Norie has run in her entire career of SAO. Then again, it's quite hard to tell the difference between how one perceives how fast one is running, and how fast on is actually running. All that didn't matter though, as for the time being, Norie's only focus was to find Ruth.

"_Where all this began…"_ Norie thought to herself. Where this whole incident began was indeed, the border between the «Errand Knights» and «Occult Frenzy» territory. The place of possibly two murders, the second one Norie wanted to ever so desperately prevent for Taru's sake.

"_I'm not going to let the same thing happen to him, not again!" _She desperately thought as her feet felt like they were gliding in the air.

The «Weather Generator» in «Aincrad» seemed to be in a foul mood at the moment, as it started raining. It didn't quite make sense since rain shouldn't be possible because the sky was covered by the base of the next floor. But nonetheless, it was raining.

Making a sharp turn leaving everyone behind, Norie cut through the thick layers of trees and brushes as she crossed through «Errand Knight» territory.

"_Almost there… Almost there!" _Norie whispered with droplets of rain slightly obscuring her vision. But eventually, she saw a silhouette, the silhouette of a person lying on the ground. It was hard to make out, but it was barely visible.

"Its him!" Norie called out as she tried to run even faster. Scraping her knees against the worn trunks of the trees around, Norie cupped her arm around Ruth to support him up to a sitting position.

"Ruth!" Taru cried as he dropped his mace and instantly made his way towards his dear friend. "Ruth… speak to me… are you oaky?!"

"Taru…." Ruth said raspily as he weakly opened his eyes. Ruth's HP bar had only a fraction of it left, deep in the red.

"Ruth! Don't worry old buddy, w-we'll get you to safety…" Taru started to say before he realized something horrifying. Ruth's cursor was red. "R-Ruth…" Taru hesitated with a «Healing Crystal» in hand as the rain kept pouring down.

"T-Taru!?" Sachi urged with desperation.

Taru was about to activate the crystal before Ruth suddenly gasped in pain. His body was shaking on its own before a piercing sound was heard. He released one breath, and his HP bar dropped blank.

"Ruth? Ruth?!" Taru was trembling as he shook the limp body of Ruth.

"Taruuuuu…" Ruth whispered before his avatar burst.

**ooo**

"I hope Taru's okay" Ellen said as she rested her chin on Norie's head.

"I hope so too. For now, he needs some time alone" Norie replied holding Ellen's legs to support her on Norie's shoulders.

"Should we get some lunch" Sachi suggested as her stomach growled.

"I'm starving!" Keshiga chuckled while rubbing his stomach.

"You're starving? Look at me!" Ellen said

I guess everyone could have a small breather of calmness and serenity after a terrible event like that. But I guess everyone has a point where they can be calm.

Perhaps it was coincidence that they walked down that street on that same day, because the falling figure of Yoruko came crashing down onto the floor before them. Without any time to react, her avatar burst into fragments as they stared, unsure of what just happened.

Shortly after Ruth's death, Taru broke down completely and it took him a few hours to calm down. In the meanwhile, Sachi contacted the «Errand Knights» and «Occult Frenzy» about the outcome of the whole incident. «Occult Frenzy» offered a compensation for Bordac's actions, but Taru politely refused.

As for the cause of death? A single dagger that was thrown and lodged into his back. The owner? Unknown. The maker? Monster Drop. But for some strange reason, Irina found that dagger quite familiar, as if she's seen it before. She asked Sachi if she could keep it. Sachi didn't object, but she felt as if she would regret it later.

The smooth cold metal was the only thing Irina felt in her fingers as she examined the dagger. The low roar of thunder and rain was heard on the 27th Floor of Aincrad.

"_This dagger…" _Irina started to think as the memory of Aika flashed in her mind. Shaking her head lightly, she looked up out of her window as she sat at her desk. The rain was pouring lightly as the occasional flash of lightning kept Irina awake.

"Aika…" Irina muttered after a few moments before she got up and turned around. Just then, a strong gust of wind blew the window open. Closing it promptly and locking it again, she wondered why it opened. Irina doesn't usually leave the window unlocked as she doesn't use her room often. Sighing lightly, she turned around, only to meet the gaze of a gravely familiar face.

Yelping silently, she glared into the cloaked strangers eyes. Those brown eyes… filled with such stress and insanity, stared back at Irina with a menacing aura as she almost choked on her own fear.

"Hello…. My love…." The stranger said as he raised his hand up to attempt to caress her on the cheek.

Irina angrily slapped his hand away with hers as she frowned, "Tsurugi… what do you want?"

"So shy, yet so feisty. That's why I fell in love with you. Oh, I was just in the neighborhood and decided to visit" Tsurugi replied with an evil grin on his face as he held a hand out, "Actually, the real business I have here is that you have something that belongs to me."

"_The dagger!" _Irina thought as she gravely stared at the dagger in her hand. That's why it was so familiar; it was the same dagger that killed Aika, that killed Ruth. On the verge of tears, she placed the dagger weakly into Tsurugi's palm as she stepped back away from him.

"That's a good girl…" Tsurugi replied as he held his hand forth again close to her lips before the bright thunder flashed again. Within that fraction of a second, the window opened itself again, and Tsurugi was gone.

Irina dropped to her knees sobbing pitifully into her knees. "He's gone, he's gone… he won't bother men anymore…" she rocked back in forth.

Little did Irina know just how involved she and the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» would be in matters relating to the «Laughing Coffin»

**A/N: Whew, broodingly long chapter to write, and with the creative juices kind of gnawing themselves down, it's been harder for me to retain ideas that I've come up with. It's been a bit stressful trying to execute my chapter ideas. I mean, I have the basic story of each chapter down until the end, but as to how those stories are going to written, I come up with that on the spot as I write.**

**I apologize if this chapter contains a few rushes, or some illogical thinking, or maybe some poor dialogue or flow of events, but point be said, I honestly just wanted to publish. Not sure if the reader will like it or not, but I certainly did **

**Otherwise, I'm happy with this chapter. I kind of wanted a mystery chapter and a little bit more Taru, that kind of tied in with the inner area incident in Vol 8, so this is what I came up with. I know many of you guys wanted a bit more Sachi and Kirito interaction, so next chapter will be a big "surprise" for all of you!**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19 – That Fateful Day in June

**June 12, 2024 – Aincrad 27****th**** Floor**

It was a misty and groggy morning as Keshiga dragged his still drowsy body to the dining room for breakfast. Yawning loudly, "Good morning" he said as he looked around while scratching his back. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed something off.

"Hey… where's Sachi?" he asked. It was strange, Sachi usually sits at her seat when Sakai makes breakfast, but today, her seat was empty. Her room was empty too, so she wasn't sleeping in.

"She's out visiting some old friends" Norie replied sipping her coffee while reading the «Aincrad Daily»

"Really? Tomorrow's the 1 year anniversary that we met each other. You know" Keshiga added as he sat down pouring himself a glass of juice.

"I'm aware" Norie muttered from behind her paper.

"Come to think of it, isn't today the 1 year anniversary of when we met Sachi?" Ellen asked as Norie she cut her pancakes into little triangles before pouring the syrup over it.

"_Just like how Ellen used to do it…" _Norie thought to herself before replying. "You're right."

"_It's also the 1 year anniversary of that incident" _

"Should we go meet up with her later?" Keshiga suggested after cutting some of his pancake and eating it.

Norie shook her head, "I think it's best if we leave her alone for the day."

**ooo**

The forest was quiet except for the low humming of insects and the squeaking of small animals. The forest around Sachi was so familiar, yet, so distant as she walked through the worn path. She was dressed in simple khaki shorts, a light blue frilly blouse, and a straw sun hat. The warm June sun rays were beading lightly through the army of trees as Sachi made it to her destination. The entrance to a dungeon, one that not only caused her so much pain, but holds dear in her heart, stood before her.

"One year…" Sachi said as she sighed deeply before laying a blanket on the ground and kneeling down in front of a tombstone that was planted in front of a tree nearby. The stone was quite plain as it protruded from the ground only slightly in a wedge shape. Bowing slightly, she read the bittersweet text on the worn slab.

_Here rests the souls of the members of the __«Black Cats of the Full Moon», may they rest in peace and may their lives be revered._

_Keita_

_Tetsuo_

_Sasamaru_

_Ducker_

It was a tombstone commemorating the deceased members of the «Black Cats of the Full Moon». Around October, Sachi decided to place a tombstone in memory of her friends so that their lives would not be forgotten, lost within the eternal sands of time.

Smiling gently at the stone, Sachi opened her inventory and pulled out a pair gardening scissors, a bucket of water, and a sponge. Using the scissors to gently cut the branches and thickets that managed to grow around the grave, Sachi cleaned the shrubbery around it. It was quite an amazing thing how the developers of SAO managed to replicate the growing of shrubberies and plants in the general fields. Dabbing the sponge with water, she cleaned the surface of the tombstone, free of dirt, grime, and moss. It was also amazing how they replicated dust and dirt collection too.

After the cleaning was over, Sachi took out a small copper cauldron, well, not nearly as big as a real one. It was very small and fit in Sachi's palm snugly. Placing the little copper cauldron in front of the tombstone, Sachi then opened her inventory and pulled out a pack of incense sticks along with a few matches. Striking a match, she lit a few of the sticks aflame and they burned slowly, leaving a strong scent and white smoke behind.

Sachi then placed the sticks into the copper cauldron and took her sun hat off in respect. Clasping her hands together in prayer, Sachi muttered the phrases that her parents, well, mostly her mother, taught her when she was young.

Closing her eyes, she meditated. Sachi let the world of «Aincrad» revolve around her. Taking deep and slow breaths, the strong, yet soothing smell of incense filled her nostrils as goosebumps pulsed their way through her body. She simply reminisced about her long gone friends. How sad that friendship must end in such a cruel way. All the great times she had with them, how much fun they had in each other's company, all of it, gone forever.

Maybe she was so absorbed into the world of her own thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching from behind. Only did she take notice of a person in the area was when that person knelt down right next to her.

Breaking away from her silent reflection, Sachi opened her eyes to see a boy garbed in black kneeling down and folding his hands in the same position as Sachi. Bowing, the boy looked at Sachi and smiled earnestly.

"Kirito…" Sachi said as she tried to smile back, but she couldn't. She was so overcome by emotion from Kirito's presence that her eyes flooded themselves with tears. "Kirito!" She cried out burying herself into his shoulder wailing and sobbing.

"Sachi…" Kirito replied subtly as he wrapped his arms around her in comfort. He knew the exact reason as to why she was crying, and he couldn't help but feel what Sachi was feeling right now. He didn't say anything, for the moment was too tender to disrupt with words, only with a mutual understanding of emotion did Kirito communicate.

Overcoming the moment, Sachi dried her tears up as she sighed. The moments of reverence passed as she recomposed her emotions. Distancing herself from Kirito a bit, they bowed once more before getting up.

"Thank you… Kirito" Sachi said as the two of them made their way through the forest down the path she had taken earlier. For now, the warm light of late morning lightly blanketed itself over the floor.

Kirito lightly shook his head as he smiled, "It's the least I could do Sachi" He was being as sincere as he could, especially on a day as sensitive as this.

"It means a lot to me. " Sachi replied as they walked towards «Ronbaru». It was very comforting to have Kirito by her side today. Over the course of this year, Sachi did not once blame Kirito for what happened to them, in all, she should blame herself. But the time for blaming was long past, and the time for adaptation was at hand.

After a few moments of silence "Well, where are you heading Sachi?" Kirito asked rubbing the back of his neck. He thought it was quite awkward to just part ways right now, he felt as if he should spend some quality time with Sachi. They have been drifting apart lately, he noticed this especially.

"I'm going to clean up my shop. It's been needing some cleaning for the past few weeks" Sachi said as she held her hat down from the light breeze.

"Do you need some help?" Kirito offered, even thought it might not be much, he figured anything would suffice.

"Well, I do need a helping hand. Most of the guild is busy today, so I don't want to burden them" Sachi explained as she smiled and nodded, "Yes, thank you"

**Aincrad 50****th**** Floor «Algade»**

"What do I do with this chest Sachi?" Kirito asked as he carried a large chest over to the counter. It was pretty heavy, even for his high STR. Even though he didn't have too much of a hassle moving it, he could feel the pressure pushing down on his arms.

"What's in it?" Sachi asked as she stepped down from her mini ladder after dusting out the upper cabinets and inspected the contents of the chest.

"Oh! So there it was!" She said opening the chest. Most of what was in the chest was junk that Sachi had collected over the year and a half. Lot's of the items brought tender memories. The box contained trinkets and low leveled accessories. Digging deeper into the chest, Sachi found the old beginner clothes that she wore for the first year before her present armor

"Doesn't that bring back memories?" Kirito asked as he grinned at when he first met Sachi. But he quickly cupped his hands around his mouth in thinking that he might've said something insensitive.

"It's okay" Sachi reassured as she glared at her old clothes is petite smile.

Kirito remembered the first words that Sachi spoke to him when he rescued the «Black Cats of the Full Moon» that day.

"_Thank you... Thank you so much. I was really afraid... when you came to our rescue, I was really happy. I truly appreciate your help."_

_Hearing such words while seeing the flowing tears, there was this indescribable emotion flowing through my chest. I remembered at that moment when I helped them, it felt very good that I was strong enough to be able to do so._

Looking back on those olden days and looking at Sachi now, it was hard to believe she was that same timid girl who dreaded the thought of fighting with a sword. Kirito saw a determined, confident, and courageous young girl in her now. Such a transformation this is that it takes a ride through path of death to undergo.

Sighing gladly, Sachi put the olden outfit down with a slight smile on her face, "A lot of memories to be honest" she muttered while staring bittersweetly at the box.

"Sachi?" Kirito asked unsure of what she was thinking as he stared with a slightly concerned face

"Nothing, I'm… just remembering some good times with Keita and the rest." She assured as she took another peek into the chest of memories.

There were a few junk materials that she didn't need for «Potion Making» anymore, some low quality «HP Potions», a bunch of extra recipes that Sachi found no use for making. Old test tubes clanked noisily as Sachi laid them on the table.

"Oh?" Sachi asked as she found something of interest as her fingers met a rather worn-out surface.

"What is it?" Kirito asked as he leaned forward to see what she had discovered.

"When… did I get this?" she asked as she pulled out a very musty looking scroll. It was a recipe that didn't look anything like the other recipes or any recipe that Sachi had seen in her entire life. It was different, as the parchment that the normal recipes would use were of a light brown, leaning on khaki, this one was darker and more worn out.

"Open it and see" Kirito suggested as Sachi did so. Carefully unraveling the string that held this ancient document rolled up, she pulled the pages apart. With it, came a typhoon of dust that momentarily caused Sachi to divert away waving her arm in an attempt to disperse the little particles.

After coughing a bit, Sachi flattened the curled up paper a bit and laid it on the front counter. Gasping, "It's a recipe…" she said while examining its' content.

"Recipe? For what?" Kirito wondered as he examined the paper from his point of view. The text on the scroll was in English, with numerous diagrams that had notes scribbled next to them. Many of the words were unfamiliar to him and the possibility of understanding it completely was hopeless for Kirito.

"I-I'm not sure…" Sachi replied still trying to decipher the contents of the scroll but to not much avail. Some of the words she recognized and understood from her English class, but many others she didn't know the meanings to.

"English…" Kirito murmured, "Why would the producers implement an English recipe?"

Sachi shrugged as she thought hard for a moment, when did she get this? _English… English…_ she whispered and whispered. "Wait… I think I remember now!" she explained to Kirito. She remembered getting a strange scroll as a bonus drop from getting the last hit on the 61st boss. Unfortunately, she couldn't even open it; it was as if the scroll had a certain proficiency requirement, and stored it in this chest until today. "I think I might know someone who can read this" she replied as she rolled up the scroll.

**Aincrad 45****th**** Floor «Geldor»**

"I might have to ask, but who is this someone?" Kirito asked as he followed Sachi through the streets of «Geldor» by the hand. It was a town well known for its tailors and fashionable clothing. Most aspiring clothing makers settle here for the easy access to materials such as cloth and leather. It was a floor rich with roaming sheep for wool and a special type of insect that players could harvest silk from.

"I remember Sakai telling us a story of when she and Hana lived in America. Since they lived in America, they should know English right? So she might be able to translate the recipe for us" Sachi explained as they approached a lively looking shop. There were some fancy looking clothes behind the display windows, and various additional accessories like hats, and scarves. On it, there was a plaque that held the name: « _Blooming Fashion_»

Pulling the door handle, Sachi motioned for Kirito to enter. Taking step into the bright room, Kirito was greeted by the smell of cloth and perfume.

"How can I help you Sachi?" Hana waved casually from behind the counter as she looked up from her manual book. "Seems you brought a guest, how's it going Kirito?"

"It's going good" Kirito replied with a casual wave of his own. Glancing around, the entire shop was adorned with various shades of pink and red with the occasional purple, blue and yellow. The whole shop was vibrating with color, hence the name

"I was cleaning out the shop today, and I found this recipe. But it's in English, and I can't read it very well. I was wondering if you could give me a hand Hana." Sachi explained.

"Let me take a look at that" Hana asked as Sachi handed the musty scroll to her.

Pushing her crimson hair away from her face, Hana unrolled the scroll. "Hmmmm…." she muttered while reading the scroll. "Well, I don't know if this is right, but this is a recipe for a «Divine Stone of the Returning Soul»"

Blinking a few times with a blank mind, both Sachi and Kirito were speechless for the moment. Was what they just heard true?

"What? Was it something I said?" Hana asked rather jokingly as she curled an eyebrow noticing the reaction of the two

"D-divine s-stone of the returning s-soul?!" Sachi stammered trying not to bite her tongue with her chattering teeth

"No way…." Kirito gasped with wide eyes as he scratched his head

"It says so right here" Hana replied pointing to the title, "I heard that it was that super rare revival item right?"

Kirito nodded weakly with a weird feeling in his stomach. This discovery might be very game breaking he figured, he couldn't emphasize that enough.

"Can you translate it for us?" Sachi requested still rather surprised and extremely anxious. Glancing at Kirito, she knew exactly what he was thinking for the moment.

Hana scratched her head, "I can try, but there are quite a few words in here that I don't know. It's been 11 years since we moved back, so my English is a bit rusty" she agreed taking out a pencil and some paper from her inventory.

After about 20 minutes, Hana had managed to translate as much of the recipe as she could from English into Japanese. On the sheet of paper that Hana had written on, only fragments of sentences were made out.

"There, that's all I can do, but it's still not very readable yet. The least I could get was the list of materials" Hana replied while sliding the sheet of paper to Sachi and Kirito. "You can try asking Sakai. She's the one who got A's in English class, not me" she chuckled.

"Okay then, thanks a lot Hana!" Sachi replied she took the paper and recipe. Rolling up the scroll and folding the translation gently, she took Kirito's hand and led the way out very hurriedly.

"Take care hun" Hana said before continuing, "And Kirito…"

"Hmm?" Kirito looked back before exiting to see what Hana wanted.

"You and I still need to duel. Call me up sometime okay?" she winked with a sly grin

Giving a nervous chuckle, "I'll try" Kirito said before Sachi tugged his arm.

**Aincrad 41****st**** Floor, «Culin»**

Perhaps it was all a wonderland, but the floor that Sakai owned her little restaurant on was the culinary center of «Aincrad» and it drove Kirito almost to the brink of insanity at how irresistible the food smelled. The juicy aroma of meat based cooking filled his nostrils while the savory appearance of those same meals almost made Kirito gag.

"Kirito?" Sachi asked as she tilted her head in wonder of his strange behavior. She's never seen this side of Kirito before; neither did she really need to ask. It was quite obvious that Kirito was captivated by everything.

"Uhuh…." He muttered in reply as he saw something that almost made his saliva glands drown his mouth. Through the window of a nearby sandwich shop, Kirito saw an array of sandwiches that contained an array of indescribably delectable looking layers. It was like heaven for Kirito, and he ever so desperately wanted to try each and every one of those sandwiches.

Tugging on the collar of his cloak, Sachi urged, "Erm, Kirito, let's go~" she said sing songingly to try to break him from his "trance"

"Uhuh…." He muttered again as he started to walk slowly towards the restaurant opposite of where Sachi intended.

"Oh no you don't" Sachi muttered as she pulled on the neck of his cloak ever harder dragging him with her.

"Wait… no… no!" Kirito whined waving his arms forward with a comical crying face, "Wahhhh…"

Opening the door to a small restaurant, the chime of a bell greeted them. Sakai's restaurant was rather small, as, she couldn't really handle too many customers at a time, as she was the only chef and waiter. There were about half a dozen tables strewn about with four chairs each and there were a few people there dining.

"Hello! Welcome!" Sakai called out from the kitchen as she pushed open the door to take an order, "Oh! Sachi, Kirito, are you guys here to eat?" she asked as she pushed her glasses up. It was weird seeing Sakai like this, dressed in a white chefs uniform with those big chef hats. It certainly contrasts to her normal ruff appearance clad in plate armor

"Actually no, Hana told us that you can you translate a document for us. It's in English and she said that you're better than her" Sachi asked as she showed Sakai that scroll.

Fixing her glasses again and getting a little embarrassed at the compliment, Sakai read the document. "It's going to be a little hard, but I won't be able to translate all of it. We moved back to Japan when we were still young, so my English isn't as good as it used to be."

"Got it, thanks Sakai" Sachi grasped Sakai's hand with gratitude as Sakai motioned for them to take a seat near the kitchen window.

"Do you want to try today's special before I get started?" She asked with encouragement

"Ah no thanks" Kirito said before his stomach growled. Shortly afterward, Sachi's stomach growled also. It's inevitable, but they've got to "eat" sometime right?

"Your stomach says yes" Sakai giggled as she waltzed back into the kitchen. Within a couple of minutes, Sakai came out with a tray that had three plates on it. On each plate was a sandwich in which the bread was slight toasted. "Here you go! Now let's eat up" she urged placing the plates on the table before sitting down herself.

"Wow…." Kirito muttered as he examined his plate. It was a grilled cheese sandwich; the bread was the perfect shade of brown. The cheese was golden and gooey, while the bacon was sublimely crisp and looked very crunchy. Taking a bite, Kirito's mouth burst with flavor as his heart leapt. "T-this is…." He gasped before swallowing, "This is delicious!" he exclaimed before taking more indulging bites.

"I'm glad you like it" Sakai replied, "My mom used this grilled cheese recipe that she picked up in America. So it's kind of my comfort food whenever I'm depressed" she sighed rather gloomily near the end.

"Is there something wrong Sakai?" Sachi asked as she laid her sandwich down to take a sip of some tea.

"Oh nothing, I'm just getting homesick" She replied with a sigh, "I miss my family"

Both Sachi and Kirito were silent when Sakai said that. It's true, they've been absent from their families for almost two years now, and at the rate that the «Clearing Party» is completing the game, it would at least take them about another year; possibly more because the last floors were probably more difficult than all the other floors combined.

Sachi wondered how her mother was doing, was she managing fine without her? What about her friends? Well, due to the fact that all her close friends are dead, it was quite a moot point to bring up. She didn't have many friends outside of her little group either, so they probably forgot about her. But shaking aside these thoughts, Sachi did indeed miss the real world.

"We'll get back to them, someday" Kirito ensured

Sakai managed to smile out of gratitude, "Mmh!" she said while nodding again.

Finishing lunch, Sakai immediately got started on adding to what translations that Hana had done. After some time of translating, Sakai scratched her head with the pencil saying, "I think that's all I can do." She showed Sachi and Kirito her work. It looked as if about half the recipe was translated in total. "Even though I got A's in English, it's been a long time since I've actually practiced it. Sorry"

"Ah, that's completely fine. Thanks Sakai"

**ooo**

"Well…" Sachi muttered as they walked down the street towards the central plaza of town, she was reading the translated instructions with slight confusion. "It's better than nothing. At least we have the materials list. That's a start right?"

Not really commenting on what Sachi said aside from mumbling in agreement, Kirito asked seriously after breaking the away from the temptations of the display windows, "Sachi… if you do manage to make the stone… does that mean…?" he was implying that not only would she make a fortune, but it would cut the time to complete SAO by a landslide. That seemed extremely game breaking

Pausing for a moment, Sachi didn't say anything in return. Shaking her head lightly, "I don't know" Sachi knew that she could make something that would save many lives, but she also knew that people would pay a lot of money for these kinds of things. It just felt wrong to her. "Wait…" She realized something, there always had to be a catch involving things like this. She learned that the hard way.

"There has to be _some_ strings attached"

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked as they stopped in front of the fountain eying a small pastry shop nearby.

"I mean this is a super rare item right? One that… could revive dead players" she slightly mumbled the last portion because of the sensitivity of the subject, "Then there has to be a price behind the good it brings. "

"A price…" Kirito thought about it.

Sighing out of frustration, Sachi rolled up the scroll and translations. "We can't know for sure until the whole recipe is translated"

Sighing along with Sachi, Kirito stretched his arms behind his head. He didn't really know what to do know either, "Maybe we could start gathering the ingredients" he suggested.

"Mmmh, I guess" Sachi agreed as it was really her last option. "I'm sure there are _some_ English speaking players out there."

"I sure there are too" Kirito said before looking around, "I know a merchant who might be able to get us some ingredients."

**Aincrad 50****th**** Floor «Algade»**

"We're almost there" Kirito said as he led Sachi through the familiar streets of «Algade» by the hand.

"This shop…. Looks familiar…" Sachi faintly remembers seeing this shop before, but from when?

"Yo! Agil!" Kirito called out as he opened the door.

"Hey, Kirito!" A deep masculine voice called out from the counter. From behind it, a large bronze skinned man with a goatee protruding from his chin grinned.

"Ag-Agil?!" Sachi asked in surprise as she cowered a little bit still intimidated by his large stature still.

"Oh? Sachi!" Agil waved with good tidings, as he and Kirito performed a dap greeting

"It seems you two know each other already" Kirito said pointing at both of them with a glad smile

"Ah, I appraised that «Lightsaber» of hers" Agil replied giving a welcoming grin, "You've been hitting the news girl"

Sachi, giving a nervous chuckle, replied, "It's nothing too big~" she wiggled a her hips a bit out of embarrassment

"It should be. But otherwise, what brings you guys here? Got some rare items to trade in for cash maybe?" Agil asked as he rested his elbow on the counter.

"Not this time, we were wondering if you have any of the items that are on this list" Kirito said as he showed Agil the translated recipe.

Scratching his head in slight disarray, "Hmph, is this a translation?" He noticed the sentence fragments and inaccurately translated words.

Both of them nodded in reply.

"Can I see the actual recipe?" Agil requested as he held his hand out to receive it.

Sachi promptly handed the scroll to Agile. "It's in English, so…"

"Not a problem" he replied as he unraveled the recipe. "Ah" he nodded as he got a full picture of the situation.

"W-wait… Agil… you can read English?" Kirito exclaimed with complete surprise as he slammed both his hands onto the counter.

Tilting his head in temporary confusion, he started to laugh heartily. "Of course I can! Andrew Gilbert Mills was born and raised in America after all! Speak it, read it, write it, I'm your man!" The last portion he called out in English.

After maintaining the same dumbfounded expression for a couple of seconds, Kirito finally realized it. Agil was a combination of his first and middle names. "_That's right….It makes sense"_ He thought to himself. Though it might be racist to judge so, his African American heritage should have given it away sooner, and Kirito should consider himself an idiot since he didn't realize that before.

"So you can help us then!" Sachi squealed with swelling excitement and enthusiasm as her face lit up with her folded hands. "Can you please translate the rest of the recipe?"

"Bwahha, sure thing" Agil responded positively giving a hearty laugh as he took out a writing instrument. Glancing at the worn out text every so often, Agil translated the whole document, and even fixed Hana's and Sakai's mistakes along the way too.

"It is complete" he said laying down the pencil.

Peeking over at the completely translated recipe, Sachi gasped in wonder. It was a marvel to her as to how bilingual people like Agil could speak both languages so fluently, she herself had rather…. mediocre English, equivalent to the author of this story's mediocre Japanese, she would even admit so also.

"Agil, that's amazing! Thank you!" Kirito said while reading the translation. Everything was made clear on the recipe now, and the only thing left was to gather the ingredients to make it necessary.

"Heh, anytime!" Agil winked giving a thumbs-up. "Now about those ingredients…" he said lastly before reading over the materials list once more. Nodding his head, "I believe I should have some of these hidden around. There are only about 6 total items, but I have to warn you, some of the ingredients are pretty rare."

Sachi nodded, "I understand, but, things like these only come once. I'm willing to pay anything"

"Oi oi Sachi, no need to be too assertive" Kirito replied waving his arms forth to try to tone it down a bit. He took it quite serious when she said _anything_, because it's quite a strong word when combined right.

"Ah leave her be, it takes determination like that to complete this game you know" Agil laughed it off as he placed a white flower, a vial of clear liquid, and golden bird shaped brooch on the counter. "Here is all I have. A «Flower of Cornelia», a vial of holy water from the «Cursed Chapel» on the 37th Floor, and a «Golden Ibis». That should total around…. 2million Col"

Pausing for a moment in stunned silence, a hair stood up on Sachi's head as she mumbled, "Mmmff!" Clearly, she was quite shocked by the price as she stood there trembling to open her inventory. If it was one thing to know about her, it would be that Sachi is extremely conservative about money. So giving up this much money was very "heart breaking". Wincing as she pressed the "Complete Trade" button, she cried comically.

"I thought your motto was buy cheap sell cheap" Kirito leered leaning an elbow on the counter.

"What? They were cheap" Agil defending himself in a joking manner, "Besides; I think what you get from that stone is worth much more than Col" he added.

"Speaking of which, I forgot to mention something about this recipe" Agil started to say again getting rather serious, "Read the last line of the recipe"

Doing as Agil instructed, Sachi glanced at the last line of the recipe. Carefully reading aloud, it said, "Use it wisely" That was all.

"Use.. it…wisely?" Kirito repeated while looking at Agil.

"Uhuh, that implies that you can only make it once"

**Aincrad 48****th**** Floor «Lindearth»**

"Yawwwnnn…" Lisbeth hasn't been getting much sleep lately. She couldn't stop thinking about "him", his smooth black hair, his always easy going expression, his gentle nature, but yet, his strong sense of determination and strength captivated her. "I love him…" Lisbeth whispered as she held her free hand close to her heart, even though she loved him, she knew he could not be hers. After a moment of silence, she sighed and got back to work. Raising her hammer upward, she was about to swing down before she heard her door loudly open from upstairs. It startled her completely as she mis-swung and hit the corner of the piece of metal, which dented it, but not in the way Lisbeth wanted it.

"Ack…"Face palming to herself silently before cursing, she placed her hammer down and stomped her way up the stairs rather angrily. "Of all the little… that was the last piece of good metal I had." She murmured as she made her way up to her shop, "Do you understand how valuable that last piece of metal was?! And why do you have to enter so loudly? Don't you know some manners?" she asked waving her finger, her eyes were closed with anger, so she didn't see who was, "That cost me a fortune and you just drained it! I'm already short this month!"

"Erm…. Lisbeth?" Kirito questioned with a rather confused look on his face. He raised both palms up to try to calm Lisbeth down.

"What?" Lisbeth asked bluntly as she opened her eyes to see Kirito standing in front of her, accompanied with a girl garbed in blue examining the various swords on the display counter next to him. "K-K-Kirito?!" she asked as she started to get red, "W-what are you doing here?!" She was extremely surprised and she tried her best to mask her blushing by turning around to avoid Kirito's gaze. They had only met a couple of days ago, what was he doing back in her shop?

"Haha, sorry for coming so unexpectedly…" Kirito apologized while rubbing the back of his head with a chuckle.

"N-No!, It's completely fine!" Lisbeth stammered while waving her arms around, "I am your p-personal b-blacksmith anyway. You're w-welcome anytime!" she reassured while trying her best not to studder anymore. After that was over with, her glare went over to the girl garbed in a light blue cloak like top with a large cut from behind dividing the back portion into two long flaps. There was a large blue bow that was streaming from the back of her hair as she held her hands behind her back leaning forward to examine the swords on display with a smile interest.

"Who's she?' Lisbeth asked pointing. Her mind raced with various thoughts, could Kirito have already switched interest from Asuna to this girl? Could Lisbeth still make her move on Kirito before anyone else can? Or… Lisbeth thought of the worst case scenario, could Kirito be cheating on Asuna? Lisbeth was extremely scared about what the possibility was and held her breath in anticipation for one of her theories to be proven true. If he hurt Asuna, she would have a huge bone to pick with Kirito once all this is over

"Oh, her? That's Sachi" Kirito scratched his cheek as he smiled lightly while looking at her, "She's a good friend of mine, and I'm helping her gather some ingredients for a special recipe."

Turning to introduce herself, Sachi waved and bowed slightly. "Pleased to meet you" she smiled.

"Ah, you too" Lisbeth chuckled lightly before sighing out of relief after she waved back at Sachi. Well, at least she knew that Kirito was still with Asuna. She didn't know what she would do if she found out that Asuna's heart was broken just like hers. Taking her working gloves off and dusting hers hands, she asked, "So you need some ingredients I hear?"

Sachi nodded in reply, recalling what Agil said.

_You'll need three other materials on top of these first three. To start, you'll want to get a container for the crystal. It says here on the recipe that you require an «Adamant Shell», I think a blacksmith should have these. They do need them to hold certain liquid metals._

"«Adamant Shell»?" Lisbeth asked as she tapped her chin.

"Mmh, we were wondering if you happen to have one." Kirito added

Lisbeth pondered for a few more moments as she tilted her head. "I might have one… but I'm not too sure. «Adamant Shells» aren't too popular anymore since they found «Mythril Shells», but I could still have a few lying around." Signaling for them to wait, Lisbeth descended back down into her workshop.

As soon as her feet touched the cold stone floor of her workshop, Lisbeth panicked as she cupped her face into her palms. Her cheeks flushed bright red as she stammered. "H-h-he's back…oooh I'm so excited.." she said to herself as she paced back and forth.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm down. "A-adamant Shell, Adamant Shell…" she mumbled to herself. Scanning her cabinets, and drawers, she searched vigorously for a small egg shaped container. An «Adamant Shell» was a type of container that a blacksmith or a potion maker used to distill liquid metals so that they can oxidize and transform into other metals. Of course, it was mostly glass, but the outer portions of the "egg", were capped with an adamant cover, in which, the adamant would help the metal oxidize faster. But recently, players have found a new «Mythril Shell» that was not only cheaper, it oxidized metals faster, so most blacksmiths didn't bother buying the old equipment anymore.

After shuffling through drawers that clanked noisily, Lisbeth was close to giving up. She sighed deeply saying, "I was sure I had at least one more… I had dozens too…" before she glanced around a bit. Maybe it was in the closet that she might find one she wondered to herself as she crept up slowly to the closet door. Turning the knob, Lisbeth was about to pull on the door before it forcefully swung open. To her dismay, a huge mountain of junk tidal waved on top of Lisbeth.

"Waaaaah!" She screamed out before a loud crash was heard from up in the shop.

"Lisbeth!" Kirito and Sachi came rushing down the stairs to find out what the loud crash was about.

"Over…here…" Her muffled voice sounded. Her arm twitched as it stuck out from the top of the mountain of junk. It was quite difficult to get out on her own as there was so much pressure pressing on top of her body, she could hardly move.

"Are you okay?" Kirito asked

"I'm fine" her muffled voice said again as she felt around for someone to grab onto to. She didn't realize the amount of junk swords and armor she had stored in that closet over the year. Eventually, another hand gripped hers and pulled, shaking loose from the junk pile, Lisbeth fell forward. "_Kirito…."_ She thought dreamily to herself as she hugged her rescuer. Nestling her head into, what she expected to be, a soft and warm cloth shirt, instead, her cheek felt a cold hard metal. Opening her eyes, she saw her reflection in a blue metal plate and looked up. It was Sachi.

"Ummm…" Sachi blinked softly waiting for Lisbeth to say something.

"Ehhh?!" Lisbeth blurted out embarrassedly as she stepped backward before slipping on a round object of some sort.

"Lisbeth! Watch out!" Kirito reached his arm forward to try to grab hold of Lisbeth, but it was too late. With a loud yelp, Lisbeth came crashing back into the junk pile bottom first.

"Kyaa…. That hurt…" She muttered while rubbing her neck. "Ow!" she responded as a round object hit her head and rolled onto the floor before her. "What is…." She said before realizing, "Hey! I knew I had one left!" The empty glass «Adamant Shell» shined in her hands. It was a round and egg shaped glass orb with a golden like surrounding ring.

"Great!" Kirito said with a sigh of relief as he crossed his arms, "Now, what do you want in exchange?"

Lisbeth scowled for a bit as she thought about it for a moment. Crossing her arms and curling her lip shifting around a bit in her new junk seat, she replied, "Oooh, I am short this month… but selling this won't nearly be enough to cover my expenses"

"A trade!" Sachi suggested holding her palm upward.

"A…trade?" Kirito asked, "Do you have anything that she might want? I mean, she's a blacksmith and you're a potion maker. I don't know if you two have anything in common"

"Don't worry, I think I might have something" Sachi said gleefully as she opened her inventory. Scrolling down a bit, she took an item out. In her hands, formed a mid-sized flask with a long neck and silvery metallic liquid that seemed to endlessly move around. It seemed quite heavy, as when it dropped into her hands, they pushed down a bit.

"Th-th-that's…." Lisbeth stammered as she held her arms out to examine the flask. Sachi lent her the vial of "precious to blacksmith" liquid. "It is! It's a «Reforge Liqueur»!" It seemed that Lisbeth was extremely excited about this special item. She should be, «Reforge Liqueur's» are a very useful item for blacksmiths. You see, when applied, a «Reforge Liqueur» can actually change the stats of a weapon, for better or for worse. But the best part is, is that there is no cost. The only cost is that you have to buy the actual potion. Other than that, you're home free. Now some might be thinking that well, if you just buy a huge stock of these, then you would eventually have an array of the strongest weapons in the game. Wrong, first off, there is a limit to how high the stats can go. That depends on the level of the weapon, the higher the level, the higher the stat limit, the lower the level, the lower the stat limit. Also, the type of weapon will determine certain stats. If it is a dagger compared to a two handed axe, the dagger will get a boost in attack speed, while getting less attack damage, and the axe vice versa. Using more of the potion on a weapon also increases the chance of getting high stat rolls, but that also drains the potion faster.

"Where did you get that?" Kirito pointed asking Sachi with a pleasant surprise.

"I'm a potion maker Kirito" Sachi reminded him, "It should be quite obvious"

"Well I don't see it" he replied still puzzled

"Just kidding, what I mean is that I made this back while I was training" Sachi explained, "I didn't really find a use for it at the moment, so I left it in my inventory. I always had a hunch that I might use it someday, so I kept it there."

"Today's that day!" Lisbeth replied grabbing Sachi's hand and placing the «Adamant Shell» in her palm.

**ooo**

"Bye Kirito! Pleasure doing business with you Sachi!" Lisbeth called out as she waved at the pair leaving her shop. Before Kirito left, Lisbeth gripped Kirito's sleeve lightly.

"Hmm?" Kirito asked as he turned around.

"Kirito….. tell me the truth, what's your relationship with that girl? Do you like her? Do you _love_ her?" Lisbeth interrogated rather harshly as her face gave a shadow over her eyes.

"Well… I do like her… but not that way."

"What do you mean?" Lisbeth asked returning to normal, this wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"Well, think of it as two stray cats licking each other's wounds" Kirito replied glaring at Sachi walking a ways off with a light smile.

Lisbeth noticed this, and smiled herself. "_I'm just over thinking things"_ Humming a happy tune to herself after Kirito had left, she trotted back down into her workshop. "I got to see Kirito today~. And I got a «Reforge Liqueur»~" she said in rhythm to her tune. Making it down the stairs, she was about to get back to work before her foot caught on something. "Waaah!" she yelped, crashing down onto the floor as the bottle rolled with a light clink across the stone ground.

"Ugh…" she muttered before opening her eyes. "Ahhhhh!" she scowled. She still had to clean up the pile of junk in her workshop.

**Aincrad 60****th**** Floor «Highlands of Waste»**

"Hnng…haa..heeehh…" Sachi had some trouble traversing through the steep landscape and rocky terrain of the Highlands.

"Can you keep up?" Kirito asked holding his hand out to help her up.

"I think so…" Sachi replied as she was pulled up to a flat clearing. Resting her hands on her knees panting, Sachi wasn't too used to this kind of travel.

"C'mon, we only have a little bit more to go until we reach the «Cavern of the Esper King»"

"Easy… for…you….to….say" Sachi replied between breaths. Taking his hand again as they climbed through the slabs of rocks, they made it to another clearing in the side of the mountain. It was quite high up. Looking towards the next floor, the bottom never looked closer than it did now. Stooping her gaze around the scenery before her, Sachi gasped with wonder as her hair rustled with the warm wind. The orange glow of the setting sun blanketed the floor with a radial obscurity.

_The next item is a drop from the «Esper King». According to the information brokers, he is located on the 60__th__ floor, in the «Mountains of Sovereignty». To get there, you must climb your way through the «Highlands of Waste». From there, you will find the entrance to the «Cavern of the Esper King», that will lead you to the «Esper Kings Throne». Be careful, the 60__th__ floor hasn't been well mapped yet, being the frontline and all. So we don't know much about the actual strength of the «Esper King» as of yet"_

"I think this is the place Agil was talking about" Kirito pointed. It was a cave, pitch black all around. Drawing his sword, he started to walk towards it. "Are you ready?" he turned around to ask Sachi.

Sachi nodded in reply as she materialized her «Lightsaber» while following Kirito closely.

Everything was silent and pitch black save for the pair of footsteps and the low hum and glow of Sachi's sword.

"Gosh it's dark" Kirito commented as he opened his inventory, taking out a torch. Striking it against a rock, the torch lit up as a low flame enlightened the area around them. "Better…" he said looking around at the now brighter cave.

"Kirito…." Sachi whispered as she tugged at his shoulder.

Glancing at her, she was pointing up. Looking up himself, he saw numerous pairs of red eyes. "You've got to be kidding me…" he muttered as a swarm of bats started flooding the cave.

"How cliché!" Sachi called out through the symphony of squeaks and squawks of the bats as the two of them ran deeper through the cavern to avoid them.

"This way!" Kirito called out taking the left route in the fork they just encountered. Eventually, they slowed down a bit as they saw no more sign of the bats.

"That… was close…" Sachi said panting while sliding against the wall of the cave.

"Don't tell me you're scared of bats?" Kirito commented teasingly

"I am not!" Sachi pouted while crossing her arms and turning her cheek towards Kirito.

"C'mon, don't lie. I heard that scream when we were running" He badgered playfully as Sachi puffed her cheeks in dissonance.

"Say, are we lost?" Sachi asked disregarding the teasing Kirito did for a moment as she looked around their area waving her sword here and there to see.

"I think we are…" Kirito replied opening his map. Just as he figured, there was nothing but «Fog of War» around their location except from where they came. It seems that other parties haven't fully explored the area yet. Not a surprise, they only cleared the 60th floor around a week ago.

"Well, this could be a problem…" Sachi started to say as she got up, "It's getting late, we can't send messages, and we've made it too far to just go back now" she said, "And I'm starting to get hungry…" She added leaning on the wall of the cave. Coincidentally, the small area that Sachi was leaning on started to glow, and the wall opened causing Sachi to fall in.

"Waaahhh!" She cried out through the darkness.

"Sachi!" Kirito exclaimed as he jumped into the pitch black opening after her.

"Ack…oof! Uwah! Eek!" For some reason, it felt as if Sachi was going down a slide. The surface of the ground she was skidding across felt very smooth and glossy, as if anything could slide on it if pushed even the slightest. Eventually, Sachi was sent crashing into another cave passage. She laid there on the floor for a few moments before getting up to a sitting position and rubbing her head."That was a bumpy ride…"

"Watch out!" Kirito's voice echoed from the opening as Kirito came flying right out and narrowly missing Sachi. Good thing her AGI was high enough to react in time. "Ack, that was unexpected" he responded while dusting himself off while glaring around their new location. The cavern was filled with glowing crystal deposits. They emitted pale lights of various colors, from green, to blue, to red and light yellow.

"Guess we don't need a torch anymore" Sachi said as she started to go through the cavern.

"I guess not" Kirito murmured in reply as he followed her with his sword at hand. It was strange not to encounter any monsters on the way here, except maybe the bats, but they don't pose too much of a threat. This only meant one thing, that the monster that is present is much stronger than normal.

"Neh, Kirito-kun…" Sachi said as they walked through the unchanging cavern, "How strong do you think the «Esper King» will be?"

"Pretty strong" Kirito replied as they took step into an even larger cavern, about 7 meters high, than what they had walked through before. On the other side of the cavern, about 10 meters away from them, was a pair of curved stairs that led up to a single throne. Along the walls of the cavern were a mass of crystal deposits that circled around them, which created a round area about 8 meters in diameter, a suitable battle arena. They paused for a moment before continuing forth until they were about the center of the area.

Eying the throne, Sachi kept a close watch on what was sitting there. The words «Esper King» were read faintly next to the figure, which sat there motionless and silent gripping the arms of his throne. He had the form of a human male, but yet, his body was completely made of some sort of electrical energy. He was covered with a golden plate armor that contained layers of spikes that tapered off from his shoulders and up his elbows. There was a single plate that covered his crotch area, not that there was much there, and leg armor that followed a similar pattern as his plate, wrist armor, and his helmet.

Standing there for a moment, Sachi readied for combat as Kirito did the same. Using scan, she tried to sap out any information that she could about this boss.

«Esper King» Level: 78

"Level 78…" Sachi whispered to Kirito

"I know…" He replied, but that was cut short by the clank of armor from the «Esper King». He stood up from his throne, stepping heavily onto the tiles of his domain. He just stood there for a moment, with his arms planted by his sides, giving an eerie glare at Sachi and Kirito. Within the blink of an eye, the «Esper King» suddenly leaped from up in his throne down to the ground about 7 meters away from the two of them. With a loud crash, his feet sent a tremor pulsing through the ground as a gust of wind whisked its way through the cavern. Getting up from his knelt position, the «Esper King» held out his right arm, with his palm pointing downward. With an electrical whizzing, a pulse of energy sparked from his hand, and a sword, closely resembling Sachi's own, formed. Slight differences between the two swords was that the «Esper King»'s sword did not have a hilt, and it emitted periodical sparks of electricity. Grasping the sword and brandishing it once, «Esper King» pointed at Sachi with his free hand, waging a battle with her.

Readying her own sword, Sachi concentrated.

"Sachi… are you sure?" Kirito asked

Nodding in reply, Sachi said, "I'll be fine"

Hesitating a moment before backing off, "I'll be ready if you need to «Switch»" he smiled and wished her the best of luck.

Nodding once more, Sachi returned her attention towards the «Esper King», who was waiting for Sachi to completely ready herself. After calming her beating heart down and relaxing her tense muscles, Sachi met the «Esper King» eye to eye, (Well, figuratively), and nodded signaling that she was ready.

Like the flash of lightning, the «Esper King» immediately rushed towards Sachi bringing with him, an under slash. Sachi widened her eyes at how fast this boss was, and only managed to barely parry the attack successfully. Both of their swords emitted extremely high pitched "zaps!" as they clashed against each other. He struck with such force that it rattled Sachi's arms that she still felt even up to her shoulders.

It was slightly a blur, and slightly reality, but Sachi couldn't really perceive how the fight was progressing very well. The strikes and blows came so fast, and she blocked and dodged so fast that her actual thought process behind all this was nearly nonexistent. It was her reflexes and the desire to keep this "«Switch»!" she called out to Kirito. She didn't have enough time to strike as she took a few seconds to recover from the parry.

"Understood!" Kirito replied as rushed forward charging his sword up for a clean «Horizontal» across the exposed torso of the «Esper King». Leaving a red gash along his blue exterior, Kirito then followed up with a «Back Step», which cleared the way for Sachi to strike around the same area with a simple «Slant». Attempting to use «Vertical Arc», the second «Slant» was blocked by the «Esper King» recovering from his momentary stun. In a blade lock, Sachi eventually was forced back to rethink her plan. Repositioning herself, she checked the status of the «Esper King». She grinned in accomplishment at how low the defense of the «Esper King» was, as it seemed like they did a number on it. But wait, something was terribly wrong, either she was suffering from some sort of vision status effect, or the «Esper Kings» HP was regenerating itself at an extremely abnormal rate. Within a few seconds, he was at full health again. Gasping out of horror, she was rendered speechless and glanced at Kirito to see if he saw it too. He was glaring at her, he was also speechless.

"What now?" she whispered hastily while eying the «Esper King» still.

"We have to keep fighting to see" Kirito replied as the «Esper King» dashed towards him this time. Blocking and dodging a flurry of attacks as if he were sword dancing, Kirito rushed forward with his «Elucindator», swinging it from the side charging up a «Vorpal Strike». His strike caused a heavy blow to the «Esper King» as Sachi came up from behind with a «Sonic Leap». Coming up not fast enough, the «Esper King» blocked Sachi's attack and forcibly pushed her away as their blades met, but left himself open for an attack by Kirito. Using «Horizontal» once followed by an upward «Vertical» Kirito attack from the back, as the «Esper King» turned his head to get a good look at his attacker, Kirito ducked and sidestepped around to his front, completing a «Horizontal Square» with a downward «Vertical» and «Horizontal».

Grunting and swinging his sword downward, the «Esper King» pushed Kirito back as he jumped backward to distance itself from the two.

"That should do it…." Kirito muttered to himself as he examined his foes HP. It was around 60%, but to his dismay, it would slowly go back up. He was appalled, as so was Sachi. They had never seen a monster have this much HP regeneration, not even the Floor bosses.

Kirito and Sachi engaged the «Esper King» once more, but yielding the same results. The «Esper King» would disengage when he got hit and allow his HP to regenerate before going back into combat. Why not strike when he was backing off you might ask? Well they did try that, but the only problem was that either they couldn't strike fast enough, or they couldn't strike hard enough. Sachi didn't have enough damage to negate the effects of the «Esper Kings» regeneration to back up her speed. Kirito hit much harder, but with a lack of consistency in his attacks due to his lower speed and longer cool downs on «Sword Skills» made it difficult for him to effectively keep up.

"Dammit!" Kirito cursed as he was pushed back once again from a blade lock with the «Esper King»

"We're not getting anywhere" Sachi said as she back stepped to his side, "His HP, it recovers too fast, and we don't combo enough for it to go down. I can't use «Meteor Break» a whole lot, the cool downs too high"

"Ah, if only there was a way we could…" Kirito said before coming to a realization, "…combo enough…" It was a little risky to use it here, but if they had a chance of inflicting a large amount of combos before the «Esper King» had a chance to recover, then Kirito figured that now would be the best time. Besides, Sachi is probably the person he trusts the most in the game right now, so he was sure that she would keep this a complete secret. "Sachi! I have an idea. Can you keep the «Esper King» busy for a couple seconds? That's all I need." He requested.

"With ease" Sachi replied lowering her sword to rush towards the «Esper King» once more.

"When I say «Switch», get back and I'll handle the rest" Kirito said opening his menu.

"Got it, " Sachi replied as the «Esper King» charged towards Kirito, only to have Sachi get in his way. He struck downward, forcing Sachi to hold her sword smack horizontally, an area in which she still needed practice on, and then struck to the side. Still not fully recovering from the strike upward, she wasn't able to completely block the second strike, in which the electrical blade of the «Esper King» dug slightly into her side. Widening her eyes, Sachi's body suddenly felt tense and her limbs started to feel like jelly. "Wh-what…" she could barely speak. There was a yellow icon flickering by her HP bar, it was the paralyses icon, apparently, an attack from the «Esper King» inflicted paralyses. Using the last bit of strength she had, she repelled the blade of the «Esper King», but that didn't remove the effect. It had completely taken over her as she couldn't move. Taking advantage of this, the «Esper King» reached forward grabbing Sachi by the head, dangling her slightly above the ground. Spinning around, he threw her, and she went flying past Kirito crashing to the wall of crystals leaving a dust cloud behind.

"Sachi!" Kirito called out with distress as he immediately looked up at his top left, where party members HP bars were located. Sachi's was still green, but leaning on yellow, and it was flashing yellow also. Sighing with relief, he rushed forward. "It's time to finish this!" The whirring sound of a sword skill being prepared sounded, but there was something different. It sounded as if two swords were being charged, at least, in Sachi's ears. Coughing a bit and waving the dust away, she opened her eyes from her paralyzed position, and witnessed such a spectacle as Kirito engaged the «Esper King».

"Two swords?" Sachi asked herself. «Elucindator» was in his right, while another sword, green and shining bright with the lights of the cavern, was in his left. Charging forward, the sparking blue blade of the «Esper King» swung downward as Kirito blocked it and then swung his left blade forward with one smooth movement. Momentarily stunned and unbalanced, Kirito took this opportunity to launch one of his strongest combo attacks.

"«Starburst Stream»!" He called out streaking «Elucindator» across the «Esper Kings» lower torso, he then led his newly attained left sword, «Dark Repulsor», following immediately to cut vertically into his body. Right, left, right left, horizontal, vertical, horizontal, and vertical, the two slashes added up to four, then six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, and finally, sixteen. He could go even further than just this, but sixteen hits were all he needed before the «Esper Kings» HP to drop to 0.

Groaning mildly as his sword dispersed, the «Esper King» held one hand out before bursting into data fragments, leaving behind a golden sphere that had small particles rotating around it, strongly resembling an atom. Kneeling down to pick it up, "The «Esper Kings Heart» Kirito said before dropping «Elucindator» on the floor as he looked back at Sachi.

"It's yours" he said before throwing it overhead for Sachi to catch.

Nodding with the heart in both hands, she placed it in her inventory.

"Well, that's that. I think we should be getting back" Kirito said flexing his shoulders.

"Kirito…" Sachi mumbled as she approached him seriously placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hmm…?" Kirito replied rather air headedly and ignorantly

"What is… that…?" She pointed to the swords in his hands.

"Ah…!" Kirito said as he held both swords up to torso level, shrugging, he decided that he should tell her about his «Unique Skill». "Sachi, this is called «Dual Blades», it's a «Unique Skill». I have one too" he said swinging his two swords around to demonstrate.

Sachi stared at him blankly for a moment not saying anything in reply.

"I found it sitting in my skills window back in November, around the same time you found yours" He continued, "Please Sachi…" he requested gripping Sachi hand with both his after sheathing his two swords, "Please keep this a secret…"

Pulling away from him rather surprised still, she nodded and changed the tone of her face with a smile. "Ah, your secret is safe with me"

Sighing with relief, "Thank you Sachi" he said before Sachi abruptly leapt forward hugging Kirito tightly and burying her face into his shirt.

"I always knew Kirito-kun was strong…" she muttered gladly.

**Aincrad 50****th**** Floor «Algade»**

"What a long day…" Sachi commented as she laid the «Esper Kings Heart» on the table with the rest of the ingredients they had collected during the day. The thing is, they were missing one last ingredient.

_The last item is a «Jade Crown Ornament». Brokers tell me that it was a drop from the 50__th__ Floor boss, «The Asura». I'm guessing you have to hunt down the people who fought in that battle, Can't help you there, though; I think you can ask the Co-leader of the «KoB»_

Remembering what Agil explained, Sachi sighed as Kirito took a long sip of his tea.

Noticing her uneasiness, Kirito also expressed his anxiousness, "Asuna doesn't get back until tomorrow, so we can't do much now. Sorry Sachi"

"It's okay" Sachi sighed in reply as she looked over the recipe. Just then, the door opened to her shop, and she was too preoccupied to look up.

"Finally you guys are home" Keshiga asked as he saw Kirito, "Hey Kirito" he greeted as they fist pumped.

"Hey Keshiga"

"What have you two been doing all day Sachi?" He asked as Sachi offered him a cup of tea.

"Long story short, Kirito and I have been hunting all day for the ingredients to this recipe" She explained. Trusting Keshiga enough to keep this to himself, she explained to him about their whole day. She did trust Keshiga very much so; they did share an inventory page like how Sachi and Kirito shared one. "And we're missing one last ingredient."

"Mmmh, what might that last ingredient be?" Keshiga asked with curiosity as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat.

"«Jade Crown Ornament»" Kirito replied as he placed his cup down on the counter, "It was a drop from the 50th Floor boss"

"«Jade Crown Ornament»…" Keshiga mumbled to himself opening up his menu, "You mean this?" He asked as he took out a rather small oddly shaped jade stone. It was kind of shaped like half a Yin and Yang symbol.

"Yes! Can we have it Keshiga?" Sachi asked with glittering eyes.

"Ah sure" Keshiga replied glad that he can help, "I was kind of… planning on giving it to you tomorrow to celebrate the one year anniversary of our friendship, but I few hours early won't hurt anyo-"

"Thank you!" Sachi cut him short before snatching the small ornament from his hands and pecking Keshiga on the cheek very boldly. She had no hint of embarrassment on her face.

"Ah…!" He muttered embarrassedly as he turned slightly red and rubbed his cheek. He glanced over to see Kirito giving a chuckle as he nudged him on the shoulder.

"I approve" he whispered quickly before turning the attention back to Sachi. Now that they had all the ingredients they needed, Sachi started to begin the process of creating the stone.

Kirito watched with amazement. Potion making was almost as puzzling as cooking; Kirito could never get the hang of doing it. Neither did he have the patience to do so. The process was so captivating to both Kirito and Keshiga that they just watched. Of course, I will not go into too much detail with so much the process.

With trembling hands, Sachi simply glared as she wiped the sweat from her brow. It was finished, and the «Divine Stone of the Returning Soul» glittered as she gently dropped it into her palm from the tongs that had taken it.

Upon impact, Sachi suddenly felt a wave of intense emotion screeching out from the stone. It vibrated with such a cry, as if the sorrow and the agony of the thousands of lives that have been lost to this game were speaking to Sachi. In the palm of her hand, Sachi had the soul of a person. One could say that she was holding her own soul because she was saved by such an item.

Breathing slowly to herself as she held the stone close to her chest, Sachi released herself from her emotional trance and approached Kirito.

"Kirito, here…" she said holding the stone out, "You deserve it"

"No Sachi, "Kirito refused politely as he closed her hands with his, "You'll need it more than me. A solo player like me doesn't have much use for one"

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor «New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House»**

Leaning back on the couch in front of the fireplace, Kirito was leisurely reading the «Aincrad Daily» occasionally looking up to observe a board game between Helen and Moto. It was late when Sachi had successfully made the «Divine Stone of the Returning Soul», so they asked if Kirito would join them for dinner.

"Kirito, have you seen Sachi?" Sakai asked rather worried as she brought him a cup of tea.

Kirito shook his head in reply.

"That's weird; she usually doesn't go out after dinner like that. I can't find her location in the guild list either. Could she be training or something?"

"_Guild…location?"_ Kirito wondered to himself. Something about this event seemed familiar.

"I should go look for her" Sakai said like a mother concerned about her lost child

"No, I'll go. I think I have an idea where she is" He volunteered in reply. Stepping out onto the porch, Kirito sighed. Looking around, he turned on his «Trace» skill and looked around even further. Just as he expected, a trail of small green footprints led the way for him. "_It's like that night in the drain…"_ he said to himself. Not to his surprise, it was exactly like the night in the drain. Standing in the drain, he saw Sachi sitting there with her arms wrapped around her knees, focusing her gaze on her newly attained «Divine Stone of the Returning Soul».

"Sachi…" Kirito said as he approached her in the darkness slowly.

Turning her head to meet Kirito's gaze, "Kirito… how did you…" she began to say, but shook her head with a light smile, "Instinct I suppose?"

Smiling himself, Kirito took a seat next to Sachi, "Yea, instinct"

"So why are you here? Everyone's worried about you, you know" She didn't respond, and there was a long silence between the two. After a minute or two, Kirito expected to hear Sachi's weak voice echo through the stone walls. But he didn't, when she spoke now, her voice wasn't frail or soft spoken.

With confidence and boldness, Sachi asked, "Kirito…. Are you still scared of dying?" She glanced at him again as she tucked the stone into the pouch on her belt.

The question caught him by surprise as Kirito sat there in momentary silence. Was he? Was he still scared of dying? Taking a deep breath, he replied, "Well… kind of…" he scratched his cheek.

"Ah… I'm glad. I'm not alone" She replied with relief. "It's weird; remember when you used to tell me I wouldn't die?"

Kirito nodded, how could he forget?

"Well, that day one year ago, when all this started. I honestly thought that your words saved me"

Pausing for a moment before continuing, "And those words gave me courage. The desire to live on no matter what, gave me a reason to keep going." She said before getting up. "Kirito, we've come such a long way together"

Kirito had a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, was she really going to do it? I mean, he did say that their relationship wasn't romantic at all right? What about Keshiga? Didn't she have a crush on Keshiga?

"Kirito… will you do me the honor of…" Sachi slowed down

Gulping nervously to himself, Kirito was prepared to say no to what Sachi was going to ask him next.

"Will you duel me?" She requested pulling out her «Fragarach»

Blinking in slight disarray, Kirito paused a moment before responding. "A…duel?"

Sachi nodded in reply, "I want to see how far I've come in this game. I want to test my strength."

Getting up himself and dusting his bottom off in relief that she wasn't going to ask what he was afraid she would ask him, "Fine fine" Kirito replied rather surprised that Sachi abruptly wanted to duel him. Drawing «Elucidator» Sachi added to her previous statement "Don't hold back either. A duel between «Unique Skill User» and «Unique Skill User»"

Nodding in reply, Kirito opened his inventory to take out «Dark Repulsor». "Alright then Sachi, if you say so. Now, show me what you've got!"

Now I won't get into the specifics of the fight all together, the only thing the reader really needs to know is that Kirito won, of course. But Kirito had to admit as both he and Sachi sat there after their duel, Sachi was a very challenging opponent.

**Authors Notes: Hey guys! Sorry for such a long period of no updates, but I've been really busy with school and stuff. College applications are destroying me, and I've been trying hard to keep my grades up. So my brain hasn't been too fresh in creating ideas for my story, but I still try my best. Now, new longest chapter I have written! I kind of wanted a Kirito x Sachi chapter with no romance involved. Just the two of them hanging out with each other. Now why a Divine Stone you might ask? It will be crucially important for the next chapter, just to give you a heads up!**

**I'm pretty sure I did a good job with this chapter, as I did spend a lot of time writing it. Then again, I might be getting full of myself once more, and will have to rely upon the opinions of the reader. So remember guys, your feedback is always wanted!**

**Just for a preview, next chapter, we'll be dealing with the Coalition Against the Laughing Coffin, and the final conclusion between the relationship between Irina and Tsurugi. Most questions you've had about him will be revealed, along with a special cameo appearance, so watch out Ancestor's Dragon! One of your favorite anime happens to be my all time favorite, and I sense that this next chapter will be a perfect one for a cameo appearance.**

**Anyway, digression aside, I hope you guys are enjoying my story. There are only about four chapters left for the SAO arc of my story, and I'm going to try my best to churn these next four chapters out fast because I want to get started on the next arc of my story ASAP. **

**Remember, don't forget to review (good or bad!) and have a nice time reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Coalition against the «Laughing Coffin»

**August 12, 2024 Aincrad 12****th**** Floor ****«Laughing Coffin Hideout»**

"Hehehehe….." Tsurugi's voice trailed off into a bleak silence as his avatar burst into oblivion right in front of Sachi. He had muttered a phrase shortly before, but Sachi kept that at the back of her mind. Breathing heavily, with her eyes blank, she dropped the dagger she had pulled out from her body and simply glared at her trembling hands. Dropping to her knees, she cupped those same hands into her face as she wailed out in despair as she started to cry. What had just happened? Sachi asked herself this over and over, but she had to accept it, she killed Tsurugi with her own two hands. But what led to this conclusion? How did this all start?

**August 10, 2024 Aincrad 56****th**** Floor ****«New Black Cats of the Full Moon» Territory**

"Whew" Keshiga exhaled as he sat down on a nearby log, "Ehhh, only gained a couple percent from those last mobs" he sighed.

"Well what did you expect? We can't just train on these mobs forever you know" Irina replied as she sat next to him. Opening up a canteen, she took a sip of water before turning to look at Keshiga.

"Time goes by fast huh?" she asked.

"Yea, it only seems like yesterday we were still in the band" Keshiga said opening his inventory and taking his lute out. "It's been a long time honey" he said creepily as he gently rubbed the neck of his lute. It was true; he hadn't played his lute in a long time.

"You indulge in that too much" Irina pointed out rather unsettled as she took the lute from his hands. "Let me show you how it's really done" Sliding her fingers sleekly down the neck of the lute, she began to pluck the strings gently, and swiftly, as she played a graceful and gentle tune that echoed through the slightly rocky terrain around them.

"Just because you were lead guitarist doesn't mean you're better than me!" Keshiga remarked as he stuck his tongue out after she finished.

Irina didn't say anything in reply. Sitting there with Keshiga's lute sitting on her lap, she simply stared, stared at the strings, stared at the smooth wood.

"Irina?"

Looking at Keshiga in dismay, she blinked softly as her quiet lips moved. "That was the song Tsurugi wrote…."

Staying silent, "Ah, that was the song Tsurugi wrote. I know." Keshiga replied. Not really knowing what to say, he got up. "Well, I think it's about time we got back."

"What do I do Keshiga?" Irina asked as she tugged his arm in desperation, "He's a killer… but.. He's a friend! What do I do? I'm scared, he might be after me next. No…. he _is_ after me"

"Look.. I think we should just wait things out. I'm sure Tsurugi would feel guilty enough to turn himself-ahhh….!" Keshiga said before he suddenly felt a numbing sensation spreading throughout his body. Slowly turning his neck to look behind him, he saw a very familiar face smiling at him. It was Tsurugi. Of all the time and place in world, Tsurugi was here.

"T-tsurugi?!" Irina asked with disbelief.

"Turn myself what? Keshiga? Old buddy?" Tsurugi asked maniacally as his eyes widened with madness. Digging his dagger deeper into Keshiga's back, he nudged for Keshiga to answer.

"H-hey Tsurugi…old buddy…" Keshiga muttered as he fell forward. He couldn't move his body at all. The only thing he could do was watch and listen as he heard Irina's high pitched scream. Looking up, he saw Irina sacked over Tsurugi's shoulder.

"Tell your friends, I'm taking what's mine" he said as he disappeared in a blue flash, leaving behind a black paper, inscribed with the «Laughing Coffin» insignia.

**Aincrad 55****th**** Floor, ****«Knights of Blood HQ»**

"As you can see, our spies have reported that the hideout for the red player killing guild, the «Laughing Coffin», is somewhere on the 12th floor. Intel tells us that our spies have seen an influx of red player's teleporting in during the night. Once we have a definite location of their hideout, we'll commence the operation. Estimated time it will take will be about two days." The head of the «Coalition Against the Laughing Coffin» explained, which was, surprisingly, Leah, leader of the «Errand Knights». "Any questions?" she asked. No one raised their hands. "Right, dismissed. I will contact guild leaders on any more information that might found."

After the meeting, Sachi strolled down the main pathway of the HQ. "Sachi!" Someone called out from behind her as she walked through the gates of the «Knights of Blood HQ». Turning, she saw Kirito and Asuna catching up to her.

"Ah Kirito, Asuna" Sachi greeted as she stopped.

"We were going to grab some lunch; do you want to come along?" Asuna asked.

"Ah, sure" Sachi replied readily, "I have some time"

**ooo**

"So tell me again Sachi, why isn't your guild fighting in the crusade?" Asuna asked as she sipped her soda from a straw.

"Well, we've had some encounters with the «Laughing Coffin» in the past, and I don't want to endanger the lives of my guild members. They're already at stake." Sachi replied while twirling up her spaghetti noodles with her fork.

"So how are you going to contribute to the Coalition?" Kirito asked taking a bite from his steak.

"Mmh, as a potion maker, I've volunteered to supply everyone with status resist and removal potions. Speaking of which, I've got to get started on that as soon as I get back." She replied

"Sounds hard doesn't it…" Kirito commented with his mouth full. Asuna frowned at his lack of manners as she flicked him lightly on the head. "Well, all I would say is, I would rather fight than do something like that to be honest" he shrugged.

"Jeez Kirito" Asuna sighed, "Always so careless in how you act. That's what's going to get you killed one day"

"Hey, I've gone this far like this. Might as well last longer" he chuckled in reply.

Chuckling along with him, Sachi smiled at Asuna and Kirito getting along. Pulling her fork up to bite at her noodles, Sachi saw a message window pop up in front of her interrupting her meal. Opening it up to see, she expected a report from Keshiga. Indeed did she get a report, but not a good one. Stiffening up as her eyes widened, she froze.

Kirito and Asuna were giggling before they were stopped by the clank of Sachi's fork against her plate. "Sachi? What's wrong?" Kirito asked with concern. Her face was pale and her eyes were emotionless.

The message was from Keshiga. Its contents was just the picture of the «Laughing Coffin» insignia followed by the words: _They've got Irina_

Looking up staring at Kirito and Asuna, Sachi stood up abruptly and swiped her hand across the table, sending her glass of water crashing to the ground. Ignoring the stares from other players, Sachi stormed out of the restaurant.

"Sachi! Wait up!" Kirito raced after her as he grabbed her shoulder.

"What happened?" Asuna asked.

Turning to look back at the two, with an expression of anger and resentment on her face, Sachi said, "We're fighting"

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Because….Things just got personal"

**Later that night…**

"I'm home" Norie called out as she closed the door behind her. Stepping into the uneasy silence of the guild house, she knew that pleasantries were not for now. Ellen knew this also and stayed quiet.

"Welcome home Norie" Futaro said from his seat at the dining table. He gave an uneasy glance at Keshiga, who was standing in front of the fireplace, moping and burying his face into his hands.

"I got the message, I came here right after we finished" She said sitting down pouring herself a glass of tea. Glaring at Keshiga for a moment, she sighed while getting up and walking towards him. "It's going to be okay Keshiga" she assured rubbing his shoulder out of comfort. "We'll get her back, no matter what."

Keshiga was silent as he back his hands from his face and glared up at Norie, he tried to smile and laugh while blinking rigorously to try to get rid of his tears. "I-I hope so…"

"Now, go get some sleep. You'll feel better in the morning" Norie said rubbing his hair.

"Bu-but Irina could die anytime…." Keshiga replied with protest as he eyed the top left. Both his and Irina's HP bars were in the green. "I-I can't bear not knowing!"

"Send me an invite" Norie requested as she waited for him to comply. Accepting, she then said, "Now, go on and get some sleep. I'll keep watch. I'll call you if something happens"

"O-okay…" Keshiga muttered while wiping his tears trying to hide them from everyone else.

"Good night Keshiga. " Sakai said, but Keshiga didn't reply and just dragged his way to his room.

"You think giving him some false hope was a good idea?" Ellen whispered as she rested her head on Norie's lap.

"It wasn't false hope Ellen." Norie corrected while tapping Ellen lightly on the forehead, "We're rescuing Irina, and I'm positive Sachi will make sure of that."

"Speaking of which, where is she anyway?" Voleke eavesdropped as he gnawed on an apple.

"At her store. She's got a huge responsibility towards the crusade" Moto replied as he crossed his legs and patted the «Aincrad Daily» against his thigh. "She's probably going to work all night"

"That's what people do if they're determined enough" Futaro replied rather bitterly as he stirred his tea around.

**Aincrad 50****th**** Floor «Algade» - «Brewed to Equilibrium»**

Grunting to herself, Sachi stirred and stirred the contents of her cauldron with all her strength. There was only one thought pulsing through her mind, "_We have to save her…"_

It was nearing dawn as Sachi sat at her front counter. In front of her, numerous test tubes and burners sat with varied color liquids sitting in a distilled manner. She squeezed a pipet gently causing an echo of dripping liquid. Dispensing the remaining liquid in the pipet, she dropped the pipet onto her table, as her arm was getting extremely sore. Her eyes were droopy and her mind was all boggy.

"N-no… I can't… not right.. now. I-I have to keep…. Working… we have…to save…Irina…" Her voice trailed off as she began to snore lightly, with her head resting on her arms, which were planted on the counter top.

**ooo**

"Do you think it's a good idea to be bothering her right now?" Asuna asked Kirito as they strolled down the streets of «Algade», towards Sachi's potion shop. She was holding a small package wrapped up in a sky blue blanket.

"Don't worry about it. We're showing our concern for her; I think that's what matters. And I'm sure Sachi will be glad we dropped by." Kirito said care freely as usual as they approached the front of Sachi's store. It was dark. Sliding his hand on the grab bar, he pulled the door open. A light chime of the bell rang as both Kirito and Asuna stepped quietly inside. Looking around, they heard nothing but a light snoring, and in the darkness, the sleeping figure of Sachi brought a smile to Kirito's face.

"Can you give me the blanket?" Kirito whispered to Asuna. Nodding, she unwrapped the package and gave Kirito the blanket. At the same time, Asuna placed the contents of the package, a sandwich. She figured Sachi might get hungry working all day; it was just a way to show her concern.

"There we go" Kirito said as he gently draped Sachi over with the blanket. "Are you done?" He said lastly before picking at Sachi cheek, it was something he liked to do to sleeping girls.

"Just about" Asuna replied as she placed the meal on the counter in front of Sachi. On it was a note that read: _Try to take it easy okay? –Asuna, Kirito_

**ooo**

Everything was a daze as Sachi woke up drowsily. Slowly opening her eyes as she rubbed them awake, she felt a warm blanket over her. Sliding the plate in front of her as she took the note off the sandwich Asuna had left for her, "Thank you" she whispered before taking a bite. It was just the comfort she needed in at this time.

**Real World – Year 2021****.**

"_That was a great meal wasn't it Tsurugi?" Irina asked as the pair wandered through the streets of town on their date day._

"_It could have been better" Tsurugi complained as they swung their intertwined hands. _

"_Do you always have to complain about everything?" Irina inquired as they stopped in their tracks_

"_I'm not complaining" Tsurugi muttered as it started to rain._

"_Yea… right…" Irina replied sarcastically, "Where do you want to go next?"_

"_Let's catch a movie. I'm in the mood for some anime" He said as he led the way with Irina following by hand. _

"_You and your otakuness Tsurugi! Shouldn't you be spending this time practicing a bit more for the culture festival?" Irina disciplined._

"_Don't worry, I got it in the bag."_

"_I sure hope you do" Irina replied rather doubtfully as she followed him by hand down the street. _

_**ooo**_

"_What?! What do you mean you're sold out?!" Tsurugi inquired extremely angrily as he slammed his hands on the counter in front of the ticket booth. _

"_C-calm down sir" The girl at the booth tried to say. Her soft voice was overshadowed by Tsurugi's flaring anger._

"_Don't you tell me to calm down!" _

"_Tsurugi!" Irina called out as she gripped his arm to try to calm him down, "Just forget it! We can watch it another time. Just stop oaky?"_

_Scoffing a bit before stepping back, "Alright… fine" he said glancing wearily at the still frightened attendant. _

"_You really need to control your anger you know" She commented as they stood at the corner of the street._

"_I'll be fine. I have it under control; it's just… I can't really express my anger any other way." Tsurugi rubbed his face trying to clear his mind._

"_Just, try not to yell at others"_

_Just staring at Irina for a moment, Tsurugi smiled, "Okay"_

_From that moment, they decided to take a walk. Clinging to his arm, Irina stared at his ever so stressed looking eyes. It was as if, he was always thinking about something, or, there was always something on his mind. Irina always wanted to think what he was thinking. In all actuality, the slice of momentary peace would be cut short._

"_Crap I'm late, I'm late!" A young man repeated as he rushed out of the door of a coffee shop, incidentally bumping into the pair as he spilled coffee all over Tsurugi._

"_Argh! What.. the hell… are you doing?!" Tsurugi recited completely forgetting about what he and Irina had discussed a few minutes earlier. _

"_Ah shoot! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" The man apologized bowing constantly out of his nervousness._

"_Do you know how much this coat cost me?" Tsurugi replied extremely angrily as he raised his fist about to punch him._

"_Tsurugi no!" Irina called out gripping to his raised arm to prevent him from doing an act he would regret later. But either way, both he and Irina would regret what Tsurugi did next._

"_Back off Irina!" He replied harshly pushing Irina away from him and swinging the back of his hand around hitting her in the cheek. _

_Falling to the ground with her hand against her throbbing cheek, Irina looked up and gasped at Tsurugi. That was totally unexpected, as, she didn't think Tsurugi's temper would reach such a level. _

"_Irina… I'm sorry" Tsurugi pleaded._

_Irina didn't say anything in reply. She stared at him with blank eyes, and turned away, walking in the opposite direction from him ignoring the stare of onlookers._

"_Irina! Irina! I said I'm sorry!" Tsurugi pleaded again as he caught up to her gripping her shoulder. _

_Nudging away, Irina turned around with red puffy eyes, "That's the third time. It's not that you hit me that's making me cry. Look Tsurugi, if you can't learn to control your anger, even after we talked about it, I don't think we weren't meant to be together"  
"I told you! I can't control it, it's the only way I know how to show it"_

_Shaking her head in pity, "Goodbye Tsurugi" she said while tiptoeing up to kiss him on the cheek. Glaring into his eyes one more time, she turned around and started walking away._

_Standing there with his mouth gaping open, it started to rain. He blinked as he saw the disappearing figure of Irina lapse from his view. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE ME. I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!" he yelled out before thrashing about in the empty street yelling and screaming like a little child. After a bit of snarling, he calmed down, giggling uncontrollably. "Weren't meant to be together? Oh, we were totally meant to be together Irina. Just you and me" Tsurugi said to himself as he tilted his head with his eyes staring at her maniacally with rain pouring down his face. That was the last straw, something in Tsurugi's mind snapped, and he went from flaming teenager, to an obsessive yandere (even though he is a guy). "Mark my words Irina, no matter what, you'll always be my love. So if you get with someone else, I will kill them. Then, when you get the punishment you deserve, I will kill you too. All of this is because I love you cutie pie, I love you so much…" With shaking hands, he gripped the sides of his head with an insane grin walking across his face. _

**August 12, 2024 Aincrad 12****th**** Floor**

"Does anyone have questions before we traverse the mountains?" Leah asked as she stood in front of a coalition of about 50 players, intent on destroying the red player threat in SAO. She had just explained about the whereabouts of the «Laughing Coffin». In fact, they live in a mansion because of all the payments they have received from killing players and rare items they have pillaged. The reason why they've gone so long without detection is because of their location. The 12th floor of «Aincrad» is the most deserted floor in the entire game. The town has no economic value, and the resources on the floor are little to nothing. It's mostly a barren wasteland. There are some mountains located in the top left of the floor map that no one had bothered to explore, not even the scouting party. You see, when the floor was just introduced, players found it extremely difficult to explore this area of the floor. In combination with being in harsh conditions, the monsters were very strong at the time, so most players gave up on their quest to explore these mountains, and it remained a black space. Knowing well enough this information, the «Laughing Coffin» decided to place their hideout here deep in the mountains, where no one would think and bother to look, especially because a game of hide and seek would take forever in the massive world of «Aincrad».

Since no one had questions, Leah decided to begin the operation, leading the way through the mountains, as the spies had instructed. Along with Kirito and Asuna, Norie and Keshiga accompanied Sachi on the crusade.

All of them were eyeing Sachi nervously. Kirito was scared she might go on a rampage in there and get herself hurt, maybe even killed. This wasn't a crowd of monsters they were dealing with. They were actual people, living, breathing, _thinking_ beings. One's that can decide to whether or not they want to kill others, while monsters were programmed only to kill.

"Sachi, you know, we might have to kill some players" Norie muttered as she slowed down to walk by Sachi's side.

Nodding in reply silently, "I know"

"There it is!" A player called out to everyone's attention as a large mansion started coming into their view. It was just on the other side of the hill they were going up. It was extremely extravagant indeed, made of complete cold black stone; it gave an eerie feeling when combined with the black dirt and barren trees that surrounded it. The squawk of crows gave some players the chills as murmurs and comments started swirling around.

Stopping in her tracks, the crusaders came to a halt about 20 meters away from the mansion. "Does everyone have a «Status Resistance Potion»?" Leah asked. Most players muttered yes in reply, so Leah took it that everyone did have one. "Stay on the alert. These guys are cunning and deadly. They won't hold back either. Now, is everyone ready?"

"Yes ma'am!" Some players replied.

"Alright then, let's avenge the lives of friends lost to these monsters" Leah said turning again towards the mansion. Embarking upon the large front doors of the stronghold of the red player guild, she and a few others pushed the doors open. With a loud creek, the massive foyer of the «Laughing Coffin Hideout» revealed itself. It was empty, save for a single robed man clapping. Entering the foyer, the unsuspecting crusade players were not prepared for what was happening next.

"Hahahaha!" The robed man laughed while he stopped clapping.

"Enough!" Leah demanded while drawing her sword and pointing it at the robed man. "PoH, this is where your shroud of tyranny ends! We're doing in all our power to get everyone out of this game, but you and your group of terrorists are holding us back! Are you trying to keep us trapped in this game forever?"

"Maybe yes? Maybe no?" PoH replied pulling his massive butcher knife, «Mad Chopper» out. "All I know is that we're going to take you down with us." At that instant, dozens of robed players appeared from the shadows, all of them with red or orange cursors above their heads.

Clenching her fist even harder, Leah yelled out rhetorically, "When will this ceaseless murder end?!" Before she charged forward towards PoH.

"Hehehe, It's show time!" PoH yelled out in return eagerly as he charged forward to meet Leah blade to blade. At that same instant, warriors from both sides started charging towards each other, one that would result in the largest death count in SAO history.

**ooo**

"Hup!" Leah grunted as she and PoH dueled amidst the chaos that ensued around them. Players were screaming and yelling, confusion was everywhere while players were fighting their own battles.

Lunging forward slashing his «Mad Chopper» from the side, PoH scathed Leah's cheek as she tried to lunge forward nearly jabbing her sword into the red guild leader. Unfortunately, PoH wasn't as large as he actually appeared, and Leah's blade only cut through the cloth of his cloak. Gasping in surprise, Leah stared in disbelief as PoH forcefully kneed her in the stomach, and kicked her back. Stepping back a bit to catch a breath, (which was quite unnecessary because you don't have to "breath" in SAO), Leah looked up, and to her dismay, PoH escaped. Cursing to herself while fending off two red players that attacked her, she raced after PoH, weaving her way through the web of skirmishes up the flight of curved dual stairs that led up to balcony in which hosted the entrance to a hallway.

"Leah!" Kirito called out following her. Asuna also followed in pursuit. "Norie, can you handle things from here?" she asked before departing.

"Leave it to me" Norie responded with a thumbs up and a nod as she fended off a knife. Parrying a bit more, she disarmed the red player that she was fighting as he squealed in fear. His dagger went flying to the side hitting the floor with a cold clank. He had his arms up staring at Norie as she held the tip of her blade close to his throat. Shaking her head, she pulled a crystal out of the compartment on her belt.

"On the inside, you guys are all cowards" She said before the player disappeared in an orange light. Sighing out of fatigue, Norie's moment of peace didn't last very long. Pretty soon, she found herself blade to blade with another red player. "Days not over yet"

What shook the minds of the clearers the most was the fact that they were ordered to kill if deemed necessary. Some players did not have the emotional capacity to take the life of another, but thus, render themselves open to death themselves if they didn't. Kill or be killed would be the most appropriate saying. Though this may be true, man is not bound by laws on the battlefield, but rather, he is bound by his moral integrity. Norie followed this saying very dutifully. She believed that life was extremely sacred, and she cherished it very much. (Which is extremely ironic because Norie is suicidal at times when her mood becomes gloomy). But despite this, she tried her best to avoid killing.

Norie could only do so much, if the player insisted on trying to kill Norie, she had no choice but to remove the threat completely. Thankfully, Norie didn't encounter any players _that_ intent on trying to fight for their "lifestyle".

**ooo**

These red players fought much more furiously than Sachi expected. Though, Sachi wasn't really paying attention to her enemy. She was only defending and attacking, but there wasn't much thought in it. Her mind was desperately searching for something else: Tsurugi. But right then, at the corner of her eye, she saw a robed player slide through the crack of the door. Why was this robed player so significant? Is he not different from the other dozens of robed red players? He may be robed like all of them, but there was one different aspect about him, he was exceedingly tall.

After repelling her opponents last attack, she started following the robed player that she had caught interest in.

"Hey! Bitch!" Her opponent called out hoarsely as he tried to chase Sachi in pursuit before Keshiga stopped him.

"That's my girlfriend!" Keshiga called out boldly and angrily while holding his spear outward. "And no one calls her that!"

**ooo**

Looking around cautiously before sliding through the door, Sachi found herself in a dark stone hallway. There were three paths, one to her left, another to her right, and one in front of her. She had seen the figure slip in through here, but she didn't know which direction he went. Cupping her hand around her ear and concentrating a bit, Sachi listened for the direction that the footsteps were coming from. What helped was that fact that everything echoed in the hallway, so it made it easier for Sachi to track down her target. There was the sound of light tapping coming from her right. Opening her eyes, she dashed down to her right in pursuit.

Slowly and slowly, the footsteps ringing in her ears got louder until eventually, there was creaking, and a light click. Faster and faster Sachi ran, navigating through the turns and forks as best she could, she was like a mouse in a maze, desperately searching for the cheese at the end. "_I need to rescue her!" _She kept repeating herself until she saw the silhouette of a door, form through the darkness.

There was no time for pleasantries as Sachi instantly turned the knob and pushed the door open causing an extremely loud slam as she stumbled into the dark room. The only light source was from her sword.

Holding it out cautiously, and turning slowly in all directions, Sachi saw the nude figure of Irina, chained up, dangling emotionlessly due to the exploits of sexual abuse.

"Irina…" Sachi choked as she slowly approached Irina.

"Sa-ch…" Irina muttered before a hand covered any more speech. Appearing from the shadows, Tsurugi held his dagger up to Irina's throat as she shook her head around and around to try to say something.

"So you've come…." Tsurugi taunted, "But it's sad, knowing you can't rescue her"

"Shut up!" Sachi yelled out in anger as she charged towards Tsurugi, "Let her go!"

"You expect me to comply?" Tsurugi replied as he forcibly ran his dagger across Irina's throat, inducing a dark red gash. "Oh dear, you protagonists are so feeble minded"

With a light squeal, Irina started crying. Sachi stopped in her tracks and stared despairingly as Irina's HP bar dropped to 0. Dropping to the floor, "Sachi…. I'm sorry." She apologized before her avatar exploded.

**ooo**

Currently engaged n a hot pursuit with the PoH, Leah slid her way through the turns and corners of the upper floors of the «Laughing Coffin Hideout» with Kirito and Asuna right behind her. Looking behind him and sharply opening the door to a room, PoH hastily ran in slamming it behind him.

"We've got him cornered!" Leah called out excitedly as she pried open the door and rushed into the room. It was an office like room with book shelves strewn along the sides of the room, and an office desk in the center. Directly behind it was a large window, one in which PoH was taking a step up on the ledge about to jump out.

"_What is he doing?!"_ Kirito thought to himself tensely as he entered the room slowly, "_He's going to die from the fall,"_ There was a massive cliff below the back side of the mansion, so even if you jump from the first floor, death is imminent. Fall damage isn't very prevalent in SAO, but the threat still remains.

PoH simply turned his head and grinned as he fell forward.

"No!" Kirito, Leah and Asuna clamored to the window to see what would happen to the red guild leader. To their astonishment, PoH was holding his left hand outward, with all fingers clenched except his middle finger, and a blue crystal in his right hand. "See ya later bitches!" he yelled out in English as he was engulfed in a blue light.

"No way…." Asuna said.

"That damn bastard…" Leah cursed as she slammed both fists on the office table. The notification of an «Immortal Object» opened up.

Kirito glared out the window angrily as he said, "We lost him" He had no clue where PoH would be. He would never find out either.

**ooo**

Sachi's heart almost stopped. Stunned for a fraction of a second, she realized that now was the time to use it. Opening her inventory faster than ever before, she gaged even harder than before.

"Where is it…." She muttered in desperation. "Where… is it?!" Where… where …." She repeated and repeated. Her heart was thumping in her throat. The «Divine Stone of the Returning Soul» wasn't in her inventory. "Where… did it.. go?" she muttered weakly to herself as her heart sank into depression. She was sure 10 seconds had passed already, and Irina was gone. Had Keshiga used the stone? Keshiga did know about it, and it was sitting in their shared inventory slot. Sachi didn't know, right now, she was regretting ever putting the stone in her shared inventory.

"Awww? Where'd that revival stone of yours go?" Tsurugi asked sarcastically mimicking a sad expression on his face. "Did you boyfriend Keshiga use it? Are you going to break up with him?" he continued to taunt. How did he know? It turns out, that Tsurugi was stalking Irina and the guild for a very long time now. He knew almost everything about each and every member, even the relationships between the members.

"Shut up… shut up!" Sachi demanded as she swung her blade at Tsurugi in complete anger and hatred. Her blade wasn't directed with a sense of justice and courage, but rather, revenge. Clank! Clang! These sounds repeated themselves followed by a momentary light that lit up the dark room as the two dueled it out. Sachi had never been so angry in her entire life, she swung her blade as hard as she could as fast as she could. Perhaps she didn't realize it, but she had heard a light clank and found herself pointing the tip of her blade at a disarmed Tsurugi.

"Go ahead!" Tsurugi demanded with a smile, "Go ahead and do it. Enact your revenge upon me!"

Her arm was trembling as her breathing paced itself faster. Was she about to take the life of another player out of revenge? She wanted to so badly, but there was another force saying no. Raising her blade upward over her head, she started crying because she couldn't decide what to do. What would Irina have done? The thought suddenly phased into her mind. Opening her wet eyes wider, her trembling hand released her sword as it dropped behind her. "No…. I won't…" she muttered weakly as her arms drooped. "You'll go to jail, like all the other red players who aren't dead. And then, in the real world, you'll be judged." She said navigating through her inventory to take out a «Jailer Crystal»

Smiling manically beneath the shadow of his face, "Weak…" he muttered. "You're mercy will get you killed someday, but I think it's a bit to be telling you that now isn't it?" he asked flashing a dagger from his sleeve and rushed forward to dig it into Sachi's stomach. "Now, once the poison renders you motionless, you'll suffer a slow and painful death, just like Irina…." He whispered.

Gasping a bit as she felt the dagger pierce through her stomach; she said nothing as her HP dropped a few ticks. There was plenty of discomfort, though, getting damaged doesn't "hurt" physically in SAO. But since your life was at stake, any sort of damage felt extremely painful, mentally at least.

"Hehehe….Hahahaha!" Tsurugi shouted out gleefully.

Baring her teeth in anger, Sachi stabilized her trembling hands and clenched them tightly. Reaching forward, she punched Tsurugi as hard as she could. Before he could react, she followed up with another punch followed by another. She gut punched him, and kneed him, and bashed him in the nose causing him to slump back against the wall, sliding to the ground. She punched him over and over again, left right, left right. With each punch brought his HP lower and lower. Sachi learned this melee combat from Moto. She figured that it would be a useful tool someday, though, she never knew that it would be used like this.

With one final punch, she gripped both hands around the dagger implanted in her stomach and forcibly pulled it out.

"H-how… did you… resist.. my poison?" Tsurugi asked weakly as he glared up at her.

"I'm a potion maker" Sachi replied spitefully as she jabbed the dagger into Tsurugi's chest. With that last blow, Tsurugi's HP dropped to 0.

"Hehehehehehe…" Tsurugi chuckled, "You'll regret doing that…. Everywhere you go, I'll haunt you. Even in the real world…. Someday…. You'll pay….I'll make sure of it." He said before his avatar burst into fragments.

Dropping to her knees and sobbing to herself, "I killed….him…." She muttered while choking on her own tears. Tsurugi's last words had stuck with her as she cried in the dark and empty room.

**ooo**

Stepping emotionlessly through the Foyer of the « Laughing Coffin Hideout», Sachi ignored the stares of the other crusaders as she limply looked for Keshiga and Norie. The fighting was over, and most of the members of the former «Laughing Coffin» have been sent to «Black Iron Castle» to await jurisdiction. Those that were killed in the fight were accounted for. In total, there were 21 «Laughing Coffin» casualties, including Tsurugi, and 11 crusader deaths.

They were by the entrance to the mansion, Norie, Keshiga, Kirito, Asuna and Leah. It seems that everyone she knew was safe and sound. Approaching them, she was worriedly hugged by Keshiga.

"Sachi! I was so worried. Are you okay? You were gone for so long, I thought you were gone." Keshiga showed his concern.

"I'm sorry, Keshiga…." She began to say tearfully. "I-I was too late…. Irina' she's…. she's gone!" Sachi started to cry out as she dug her face into Keshiga's embrace.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Keshiga asked as Sachi looked at him with a "what are you saying?!" face.

"What do you mean?! I-I saw her…" Sachi insisted.

"She's, right there" Keshiga pointed. There Irina was, sleeping on the couch with a cloak covering her body. "She was kind of…. Naked, so we covered her up" he replied blushing slightly as he scratched his cheek.

"Keshiga…." Sachi muttered in realizing something, "Did you… use it on her…?"

He nodded, "I think you were saving it for her too weren't you?" he asked with an ever carefree smile. It turns out that, the moment Irina's HP dropped to 0, Keshiga had used it before Sachi. Sachi had thought that Keshiga wouldn't have noticed until later, but it appears she was wrong. Then again, good things come with a price. Keshiga felt some guilt for the other players that were not so fortunate.

"Keshiga…." Sachi muttered before tearing up again. "Keshiga… Thank you…" Her voice was muffled as she dug her face into his chest again.

**Real World**

The wind blew lightly as the clouds gathered around the sky.

"Hey hey, have you ever heard of a shigofumi?"

"No, what is that?"

"I hear that it's a letter from the dead!"

"Really now?"

"Yea, and I also hear that a little girl delivers them!"

"How creepy!"

**ooo**

"Looks like it's going to rain!" A gleeful voice said with a hint of an echo. The source of the voice was unknown.

"It's quite obvious isn't it Kanaka?" A young girl replied quietly and dully as she drifted down from the sky, with white angel wings flowing from her back. He silvery white side bangs flowed with the wind as her feet stepped quietly on the building she had landed on. "Rain is what humans rely upon, without it, life ceases to exist."

"Always so anecdotal Fumika!" The unknown voice of Kanaka sounded as Fumika held her hand out. The necklace around her neck turn white as her wings disappeared, and formed into a staff in her hand. "How many letters does this make anyway?" she asked. The large glass like ornament at the top of the staff lit up in sync with the words

"Three thousand eight hundred thirty-one" Fumika replied as she walked quietly along the edge of the building.

**ooo**

Okutse Ranamura, a middle aged partially bald man, made his way to his office. His rigid black hair showed signs of aging due to stress and lack of sleep. His droopy eyes gave him a look of gentleness, and he always had a content look on his face. He was a lean, but fit man. All those years of playing golf did have its advantages. His glasses were dropping slightly down his nose, but he didn't bother to push them back up as he read the plaque outside his office. _Okutse Ranamura – SAO Investigation Officer_

"Another day of work" He said leaning back in his chair, and opening up a newspaper. The headline,  
_A total of 4,000 lives lost to the death game: SAO_

Shaking his head, he sighed as he laid his newspaper down. "I hope Tsurugi is safe"

**ooo**

"Jeez Fumika, don't you think they've been working you hard enough? I mean, why did they even put you on this job anyway?" Kanaka asked obnoxiously.

"You forget..? Kanaka?" Fumika inquired dully as she slightly raised an eyebrow; pausing for a moment to look at her partner. "I was just like these people." She recalled "that" time frame, 16 years ago. Gospel had assigned her the task of delivering the Shigofumi of those who were killed in the game SAO, mainly because like those players, she herself was in a "comatose" state for about two years.

"Just like…. Ooohhh!" Kanaka sounded, "I remember now. You were a potato! Just like those people stuck in that Nerve thingy."

"I wasn't stuck like that, _Mika_ was." Fumika emphasized without saying anything further, indicating that she didn't want to talk about the subject at hand.

"Anyway, what do you think is in the letter this time?" Kanaka asked curiously

"The truth" Fumika replied ambiguously as she stopped in front of an office door.

"Aww c'mon, what kind of answer was that?" Kanaka asked seemingly disappointed.

"It was a truthful answer" Fumika again, joked in her monotone voice as she knocked on the door.

"_Who could that be?" _Okutse asked himself, "_I wasn't expecting any appointments today"_

"Come in!" He called out to the visitor at his door. "_I wonder who it is?"_

Hearing a soft pair of footsteps enter his office, he looked up from his papers. To his surprise, he saw a strangely dressed up girl, holding an even stranger looking staff.

"C-can I help you?" he asked rather nervously as he laid down his pen.

"Ding! You've got mail!" Kanaka rejoiced happily as a digital envelope had lit up on her glass screen.

Blinking to himself for a couple of seconds, "Wait… did that staff… just talk?" he asked rather dumbfounded. If this was a recent invention from one of the toy companies, they did a pretty good job in making a voiced AI like that.

"Hey! Don't call me a staff! My name is Kanaka! And someday, I'll become a human!" Kanaka boisterously said.

"You've been saying that for the past sixteen years Kanaka" Fumika replied reaching into her messengers bag. Caught between her index and middle finger, she pulled out a letter. It was enclosed in a pure white envelope, with a single darkly patterned and colored stamp, with a red seal holding it shut. Raising her arm, she pointed the letter at him for him to take.

"A letter…?" Okutse muttered confusedly.

"A Shigofumi" Fumika replied bluntly in return.

"Shi-go…fumi….?" Okutse asked in reply

"Shigofumi. A letter from the dead"

"From the dead?" He scoffed doubtingly as he turned his attention back to signing his papers. "You expect me to believe that? Besides, no one I know has died recently"

"Don't be so quick to make prejudgments, because death has a way of being ironic" Fumika muttered as she stared enigmatically at Okutse with her ever so emotionless eyes.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Okutse asked getting rather annoyed at this little girl who decided to visit his office, and tell him that he has mail from a dead person.

"The recipient, Okutse Ranamura" Fumika began to say. "The sender" She said focusing her eyes to a more serious stare, "Tsurugi Ranamura"

"What…." Okutse asked laughing extremely nervously, "That's a lie right? You're just a kid pranking me right?"

"I never lie" Fumika replied flopping the letter once for him to take it.

"It's true, she never lies" Kanaka commented.

"I don't believe you! You think you can come in here and tell me that my son's dead? And what's with that staff? Are some ventriloquist or something? Is that some sort of device they invented? " Okutse scolded angrily, not believing a word Fumika said until his phone rang.

He stopped talking and his eyes widened. Fumika nodded to let him answer it. His hand was trembling as he reached into his pocket to take his vibrating cell phone out. "H-hello?" he asked raspily.

"Hello? Okutse Ranamura?" A voice asked.

"Y-yes?"

"Ah, this is Dr. Hanetsu, from Kiminwara hospital. Um.. I don't know if this is the best time but…"

"But what doctor?!"

"I'm sorry to say, but your son, Tsurugi. He died at 4:15, about an hour ago. I'm sorry for your loss."

Okutse was silent, his mouth was wide open and so were his eyes. He slowly diverted his attention away from the papers on his desk, and towards Fumika.

"Ranamura-san? Are you okay?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm…fine…." Okutse replied weakly, "I just need a moment to myself."

"I understand, I'll call back later then. Again, I am sorry for your loss"

"Thank you… doctor" Okutse replied as he turned his phone off. Slowly placing his phone on his table, his trembling hands then went up to push his glasses up his nose. He said nothing and simply stared at Fumika as she stared back.

After a moment, Fumika nudged the letter forward again for him to take it. Okutse nodded as he leaned forward. His hands never trembled as much as they did now. Snatching the letter from Fumika's pale white hand, he slowly tore open the seal, and took out the contents of the letter. Reading it silently to himself, the last words of his son, engraved in the white paper with black ink, were:

_I was killed. Avenge me. My killer is Sachi._

"He was…killed…?" Okutse asked emotionlessly as he stared blankly into nothing. "Thank you… I would like a moment alone" he said to Fumika.

Without saying anything, Fumika turned and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

"That went rather well" Kanaka commented unruly as Fumika walked down the hallway. "Neh Fumika, you've been delivering these letters pretty dutifully for the past year and a half, why are you still on this job?"

Fixing her hat and pausing for a moment, Fumika replied, "It's my job Kanaka. I stick with it until the end, unlike a certain someone" she commented.

"Hey! I heard that!" Another voice of a girl sounded form Kanaka, but it wasn't Kanaka.

"Chiaki, what are you doing eavesdropping on me?" Fumika asked as they "phoned" each other from a built in feature of their staffs. Chiaki is Fumika's coworker and superior, but far lazier when it comes to delivering Shigofumi.

**ooo**

"Where are we going now Fumika?" Kanaka asked as Fumika walked through the halls of Aiku Hospital.

"We have one more letter to deliver for today" Fumika replied as she held up another Shigofumi.

"Who is it from this time?"

"The sender, Sasamaru aka Sasamari Ruka … The recipient, Sachiyo Shibaguchi" She replied as she stopped in front of room 78B.

**August 13, 2024 Aincrad 41****st**** Floor, «Culin»**

Who knows if it was a good idea, but the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» decided to host a party commemorating Irina's safe return, the destruction of the «Laughing Coffin», and the souls of the players lost during that battle.

Everyone was feasting and enjoying themselves, even Irina was. Thankfully, she recovered fast from her rather traumatic experience, and was glad to know that the threat of Tsurugi was no more, at least to her. Those words Tsurugi said shortly before his death haunted Sachi. What did he mean, _Even in the real world_? She pondered over this as she leaned on the wall outside, by herself, along the side of Sakai's shop. Sighing, she closed her eyes. Sachi was still troubled; her soul felt the guilt of manslaughter as her hands carried the chains of depression.

Closing her eyes in silent worry, she heard some light footsteps, before turning to look. It was Keshiga, "Hey" he said as he approached her.

"Hey" Sachi replied as Keshiga wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"Are you okay? How are you holding up?" He asked

"I'm-I'll be fine" Sachi replied before looking up to Keshiga. "Keshiga, about yesterday…"

"Don't sweat it. I knew you would do the same for me" Keshiga replied with a smile.

"Keshiga… Thank you" She said blushing lightly. Sachi knew that now was the right time.

"Like I said, no proble-"He began to say before he was interrupted, interrupted in such a way that he would never have expected. Keshiga held his breath as Sachi pressed her lips up against his. The two of them stood there, in the silence of true love. Their hearts, their thoughts and emotions were combined in that single act.

Pulling back with a tint of red on her cheeks, Sachi stuttered, "I-I love you K-Keshiga"

Keshiga, blushing back at her smiled, "Sachi…will you…marry me?" he asked boldly

Sachi said nothing, smiled, and giggled as her red face got redder. She pushed forward, kissing him again. That was her answer.

**Author's Notes: Hello guys! I'm back with another chapter, and hopefully, a very good one at that. First thing, I would like to apologize if this chapter seems a bit, fast. A lot of things are happening at the same time in this chapter, so I'm not sure whether the pacing was fine or not. Anyway, if you hadn't noticed yet, the cameo characters were from an anime called Shigofumi: Letters from the Departed, and as I said last chapter, it is my all time favorite anime :3. I figured, since one of the themes from SAO is death, (In a sense) It seemed to make sense that some players would like to have some last words, kind of like Sachi's message to Kirito in the anime and LN's. **

**Well, that's kind of all I have to say for now. Have fun reading and be sure to comment! Oh, and if you have any thing that needs some clarity, just PM me, I'll respond in due time.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Merging Into Destiny

**October 24****th****, 2024 - ****«New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House»**

The weather was getting colder as fall drifted its course through October. With cold weather always brings sickness, no matter what.

"Ughhhhh…." Norie said muffledly as she sniffed up the dripping mucus from her nose. Even though there was no "physical" mucus dripping from her nose, it always felt as if there were.

"The feeling is the worst in the morning…." She commented slowly getting up, sitting in her bed. "Achhooo!" she sneezed. "Ow!..." Norie moaned as she rubbed her throbbing back.

"Jeez Norie, do you have to sneeze so loud?" Ellen whined as she appeared from her sword, lying on Norie's lap as she yawned.

"I can't help it, my body in real life is sick"

"And you can't do anything about it?"

Norie shook her head, "I have to wait… until the cold passes…." She said while coughing between words.

"Honestly, people are weird. How do you get sick? I just don't get it" Ellen inquired as she followed Norie down the living quarters and into the living room. "Is it like a computer virus that enters your body? Or what?"

"Kind of, it's kind of like when you touch «Dark Matter». Your stomach feels weird, your head hurts, and you feel all sleepy right?" Norie asked rhetorically

Ellen nodded

"Well, that's kind of how I feel right now" She replied sneezing again. "Gahh…." Norie rubbed her nose as she wandered around the guild house.

"Where is everyone?" Ellen asked as Norie walked into the kitchen. Normally there would at least be one person home right now. No one usually leaves the house until 11 or noon.

"Are they doing something? Or…." Norie muttered stuffily as she opened up the guild "fridge" (A place where they stored food rather, to keep it from expiring). There was an item with a small envelope icon attached to it. Curious about what it said, Norie took it out. It was a bowl of soup.

_Try to get better okay? And stay warm! If you think you feel better, then you will get better! _

_Sakai_

Smiling warmly as she sat down, "Thanks Sakai" she said before eating.

**ooo**

"Ne Norie, do you think it will snow soon?" Ellen asked as Norie stood on the front porch of the guild house. She was playing with the cold air as she exhaled and looked intently at her visible breath.

"Of course it will snow" Norie replied as she sneezed again. "Brrr, "she shivered while rubbing her arms together. The bitter cold of mid fall bit at Norie's legs. Of course, wearing shorts in this kind of weather wasn't the best idea, even in the virtual world. Opening up her inventory, she equipped a purple scarf, and black stockings that covered both her legs. "Ahh, better" she sighed with relief as she took a look at the environment around her. The light mist that covered the streets was starting to disappear with the light of late morning.

Norie woke up pretty late actually, it was around 11A.M. ALT (Aincrad Local Time), and only a few minutes ago, Norie received a notification from Sachi.

_We're training on the 74__th__ Floor __«Labyrinth», if you feel better, feel free to join us_

_Sachi_

Sighing to herself as she walked down the street towards the «Transfer Gate», Norie said, "That Sachi… She's been so eager to get to the 90's once she hit 86"

"But you just hit level 91 didn't you Norie? Why do you need to train?" Ellen asked as she sat on Norie's shoulders.

"I know I don't need to really, but I do need some cash. Its winter, and you know what that means right?"

"Treats!" Ellen called out gleefully.

Norie chuckled, "That's right Ellen, treats" she said trying not to sound too depressed.

**Aincrad 74****th**** Floor ****«Labyrinth»**

"Haah!" Norie called out deflecting the spear of a «Dusk Lizard». Spinning around to her right and slashing at its side, she uppercut and rushed behind delivering the killing stab. Sighing as she collected her loot, Norie looked around at the strangely decorated «Labyrinth». The floor was a starch white as the dark background was filled with lines of various colors, moving around in various directions. It was quite abstract indeed; it was more like something she would see in an art gallery or something.

"I wonder where they are…" Norie muttered to herself as Ellen floated next to her.

"Hey, Norie…" she asked pulling on Norie's unicorn tail.

"Mmh?"

"You know how everyone at the guild you consider your family right?"

"Yea"

"What about the real world? Do you have family there?"

Norie was silent as she walked through the «Labyrinth», with the sound of her footsteps echoing through the walls. It was a sensitive question to ask Norie, especially lately when her depression of Keren and her broken family began to arise again. But Norie knew it was an innocent question, and deserved to be answered.

After a while of not talking, Norie look at Ellen and nodded. "Yea… I have family in the real world." She said lowly and sentimentally, "I have a mom, and a dad…. And a younger sister"

"Oh…" Ellen replied contently as Norie began walking again, "What's your sister like?"

Norie was a bit hesitant before talking, "Well… she's very kind, loving. But she kind of a loudmouth sometimes, like a certain someone I know" she said symbolically of Ellen.

"Hey! I'm not a loudmouth!" Ellen replied rather loudly, pouting with her hands on her hips.

Norie chuckled, "But I care about her a lot" she added with a light smile on her face. But sadly, the virtual Ellen had no knowledge of the tragic fate of real Ellen.

Even more silence enveloped as Norie made her way through the maze. Strangely, there weren't many monsters in her area, she wondered why.

"Norie… what'll you do after this game is over?" Ellen asked rather out of the blue. It wasn't a question Ellen would normally ask.

Norie shook her head, "I don't know"

"You know, when this game is over, I'll probably disappear, and you'll go back to your life and forget about me" Ellen said sadly. This was strange indeed, Ellen never showed emotions of sadness or

The guilt and sadness suddenly built up in Norie as she clenched her fist. She didn't want to leave Ellen as much as Ellen didn't want to leave her. Turning to Ellen, who was now standing with her feet planted on the ground, Norie wrapped her arms around her most trusted companion. "I'll never forget about you, no matter what, Ellen. You're the world to me, and even when I leave this game, I'll never leave you. Never…" She said

**ooo**

"That was close" Kirito remarked as he panted and panted, sitting next to Asuna against the wall of a «Labyrinth». He and Asuna had just escaped the terror of the 74th Floor boss, «Gleameyes», in which they encountered by accident while fighting in the area.

"You're telling me" Asuna replied as she caught her breath. That was probably the scariest moment in Asuna's life here in SAO, other than the time she spent on the 31st Floor, where it was home to supernatural creatures such as ghosts and spirits.

Relieving themselves of the moment of fright and calming themselves down, Kirito and Asuna decided to take a little lunch break. Asuna brought some sandwiches and tea, and they chowed down.

"It's... really good..."

Kirito bit into it twice, thrice in a row, and then uttered my sincere appreciation. The shape seemed somewhat European, like the food that the NPC restaurants offered, but the taste was different. The slightly sour and sweet flavor was definitely similar to the Japanese fast foods that he had eaten until two years ago. He ate the huge sandwich quickly, feeling like he was going to cry from the nostalgic taste.

After finishing the last piece and downing the tea that Asuna gave he, he finally gave a sigh.

"How did you manage this flavor...?"

"It's the result of a year of training and experimentation. I made it after analyzing the data on how alllllllll of the herbs affect the taste reproduction engine. This is glogwa seed, shuble leaf, and calim water."

As Asuna said this, she took out two small bottles from the basket, opened one of them, and stuck her index finger in. The finger came out with some indescribable substance on it that was sticky and purple. Then she said,

"Open your mouth."

Kirito had no clue what it was, but as he opened his mouth on reflex, and Asuna flung the substance into it. The gooey substance flew into his mouth accurately and its flavor amazed him beyond this world.

"...It's mayonnaise!"

"And this is abilpa beans, sag leaves, and uransipi bones."

The last one sounded like the ingredient for an antidote, but the liquid flew into his mouth before he had any time to think about it. Its taste shocked him even more than the previous one. This was definitely soy sauce. Kirito was so ecstatic that he grabbed Asuna's hand and put her finger in his mouth.

"Kya!"

Asuna screamed and snatched her hand out while glaring at Kirito. But then she started laughing at his expression after he had just licked her finger.

"That's what I made the sandwich out of."

"...It's amazing! Perfect! You could make a fortune with this!"

To tell the truth, the sandwich tasted even better than the Ragout Rabbit meal he had yesterday.

"R-Really?"

Asuna smiled sheepishly.

"No, it'd be better not to sell them. I can't let my share disappear."

"Uwa, you're so greedy! ...If you want, I'll make it again for you sometime."

She added the last bit quietly and leaned slightly against his shoulder. As a calm silence filled the room, he even forgot that this was in the front-lines, a place where they fought with our lives at stake.

If he could eat this sort of thing every day, he could steel his resolve and move to Salemburg... right next to Asuna's house... he started thinking this without realizing it, and just as he was about to say this out aloud—

"Hey Norie, do you know when they start selling the winter specials at the bakeries?" The familiar sound of Ellen's loudmouthed voice echoed in the area. Both Asuna and Kirito looked around to see where her voice was coming from after they widened the distance between them, and the figure of Norie slowly trodded its way through the darkness and into view, until she was visible to the eyes of Asuna and Kirito.

"I'm… sure that… they'll start selling… soon…." Norie said weakly.

"Norie!" Kirito called out as he waved from his relaxed sitting. Asuna also waved.

"Kirito…" Norie tried to call out in return as she waved her sluggish arm up, but only a raspy voice shrilled out. Her head was throbbing as her knees rocked trembling. Her neck was stiff, her chest was cold, and her arms were sore. She tried to walk faster, but her consciousness gave out and she collapsed on the floor, breathing rapidly.

"Norie!" Ellen cried out as she tried to shake her best friend awake, "Norie! What's wrong? Wake up!"

They both gasped as they instantly got up and went to help Norie up.

"Do you know what's wrong with her Ellen? What are you two doing here anyway?" Asuna asked as Kirito slung the unconscious Norie's arm around his shoulder and dragged her to the wall he and Asuna were resting on earlier.

"She hasn't been feeling well lately, and she wanted to catch up with Sachi and the rest." Ellen replied rather shakily as she tried to stay calm about Norie's collapse.

"Sachi's nearby?" Kirito asked as he laid Norie down.

"Mhm, she and the others are training around this area, but we got lost"

"Mmnnnn…" Norie muttered as she stirred a bit. Shaking her head, and rubbing her face, "What happened…?" she asked drowsily

"You collapsed, what up with you Norie?" Asuna asked as she took a seat next to her.

"I have a cold" she sneezed

"You should be more careful" Asuna said worriedly as she opened up her inventory. Taking out a blanket and spreading it over Norie, she also took out a cup of hot tea that she had made in the morning. "Here, drink this. It'll help you feel better"

"Thank you" Norie replied taking the cup and drinking the hot liquid. It was very sweet and soothing. It tasted like honey, with a hint of mint and barley tea. "Sorry for making you worry."

"It's okay" Kirito replied as he sat in Indian style in front of Norie, "But you should be more careful. What if you collapsed outside the safe zone? Monsters surely would have gotten to you"

"Again, sorry" Norie apologized as she took another sip of tea.

"Norie! I was so worried" Ellen wailed out rather tearfully as she dug her face into Norie's side.

"Ah, it's okay Ellen. I'll be okay" Norie replied as she sneezed once again.

Just then, entering the safe zone were a band of 6 players, their leader wielded a katana. It was Klein, leader of «Fuurinkazan».

"Yo, Kirito! It's been a while eh?" Klein waved, "Hey, Norie! Long time no see!"

Kirito stood up to greet his old friend. "You still alive Klein?" he asked jokingly

"Hey Klein, haven't seen you in some time" Norie said muffledly behind her scarf and her congested sinuses as she went up with Kirito to greet Klein after gulping down the rest of her tea.

"Uncle Klein!" Ellen called out gladly as she stood upright in front of him. Klein was actually very nice to Ellen whenever they met; he would buy her treats that Norie wouldn't normally get for her, so they were pretty close.

"Hey Ellen!" He said while rubbing Ellen's pink hair. Turning his attention back to Kirito, "Still foul mouthed as ever, why are you of all people in a par-ty…" Klein slowed down as both his eyes and mouth were wide open.

"Hey, Klein, say something… are you lagging?"

Norie snapped her fingers in front of him and looked to where he was staring at as she sneezed.

"H-Hello! I'm just a guy c-c-called Klein! Bachelor! Twenty-four!"

Norie and Kirito glared at each other in confusion as Kirito jabbed him again, but harder this time. Even before he finished talking, his party members rushed up and began to introduce themselves.

There was some thought of self-hatred permeating in Kirito's heart that he ignored, and spoke to Asuna,

"...Well, they're not bad people, if you ignore the leader's thuggish face."

"Hey!" Klein replied stomping down on Kirito's foot as hard as he could. Upon seeing this, Asuna burst out laughing, unable to hold it back, Klein smiled sheepishly, but then turned to Kirito and asked him in a voice filled with murderous intent.

"H-H-How did this happen Kirito!?" He asked gripping Kirito's shoulders. Kirito looked for the right words to say before Asuna spoke before him.

"Nice to meet you. We've decided to party with each other for a while. I hope we get along." Though it was kind of a moot point to say "Nice to meet you", especially since Asuna and Klein have seen each other on numerous occasions in the past, especially when clearing floors.

Klein and his party made expressions of anger and depression, "Kirito you bastard…" he muttered before turning to Norie. "Which reminds me, what are you doing here Norie?"

"Achoo!" Norie sniffled, "I was searching for Sachi and the rest, but got lost"

"Oh no, you don't sound too good. You should get some rest soon"

"I got the idea already" she replied as she shrugged. Then footsteps resounded through the doorway to the left that Fuurinkazan had recently come through. Asuna tensed at who was coming.

"Look, just because we're married doesn't mean you get to hog all the sheets you know!" Sachi's voice permeated from her bleak figure as it appeared through the gate, along with Keshiga. They've been married for about four months now, and the little discrepancies in marriage started to show.

"Heheheh, sorry! I can't help it, it gets so cold!" Keshiga excused.

"It can't get cold inside" Sachi pouted as she noticed he group of familiar players gathering in the safe zone.

"Ah! Norie! There you are!" Keshiga said in a relieving tone.

Sachi's eyes widened as she began to turn red eying the group of players that had heard what she had just said. "Eep!" she muttered as she hid behind Keshiga embarrassedly to avoid the stares of others as he kept walking to greet his friends.

"Norie… where have you been?" She asked peeping her head out from over Keshiga's shoulder.

"Mmh I got lost" Norie replied stuffily as she rubbed the back of her head with a chuckle.

"She passed out near the safe zone" Kirito pointed out as Norie planted her hands on her hips and tilted her head at Kirito.

"Jeez Norie, I told you to join us if you _felt_ better." Sachi said disapprovingly

Shrugging at Sachi with a wry smile on her face, "Well I did felt better, and then I didn't"

"Well, I think you should take the day off today" Sachi said shaking her head and sighing, "What something happened to you? I wouldn't know what to do if you died"

Aside from Sachi's worry chatter, Kirito was glad Sachi was showing her leadership by worrying about her guild members. Then, Asuna grabbed his arm and whispered something about «The Army».

Immediately turning his gaze towards the doorway, the heavily armed unit that he and Asuna had seen in the forest came into sight. Klein and his party backed into the wall, as Sachi grabbed Keshiga's hand and did the same. The group was in a twin column formation, but it wasn't too orderly. Their footsteps were heavy, and they seemed extremely tired.

"Hmph" Sachi scoffed under her breath while frowning and disapprovingly staring at the fatigued members of «The Army». The lack of mutual respect while in party was something she really disliked, especially in guilds where player relationships should be highly regarded.

They stopped at the wall opposite from Kirito and the others in the safe area, and the man in front gave a dismissed order, at which the other eleven dropped to the floor. The "leader" walked towards them without even glancing.

He stopped in front of them, and took off his helmet. He was rather tall and appeared to be in his late thirties. He had a sharp face, very short hair, and a pair of harp eyes below his thick eyebrows.

"I'm Lieutenant Colonel Cobert of the Aincrad Liberation Force" he said

Kirito was rather annoyed at how «The Army» had evolved into such a formal organization.

"Kirito, solo" he replied

"Have you mapped the area ahead of here?"

Kirito nodded, "I've mapped the area all the way up to the boss room."

"Hmm, then I hope you would supply us with the mapping data"

Being surprised by his rather demanding attitude, Kirito was about to reply, but Klein got angry and butted in.

"What? Supply you with it? Don't you even know how hard mapping is?"

It was quite true. Maps of unexplored areas were important information; they could be sold to treasure hunters who sought out chests at high prices.

"We are fighting for the freedom of players like you" He thrust his chin forward and continued

"It is your duty to cooperate with us!"

The word arrogance span in the minds of everyone who listened in on what he was saying. Norie shook her head the same way as Sachi.

"Wait a second, how could you…"

"You, you bastard…"

"You have no right to take information just like that!"

"Meh, you «Army» guys think you're so cocky huh? I've been on the front lines longer than any of you"

Asuna, Klein, Sachi, and Norie, who had been standing to his sides, stepped forward with their voices full of outrage. Spreading his arms apart and stopping them, "It's okay, I was going to spread it around when I got back anyway" he said.

"Hey hey! You're being way to kind Kirito!" Klein protested

"Ey Kirito, are you sure about this?" Norie asked while sneezing again.

"It's okay, I don't have any plans to sell the maps for money" he said while undergoing the transaction.

"Thank you for your cooperation" He replied without any gratitude and turned around to head back.

"Take some advice yea? You're better off not attacking that boss."

"That's for me to decide" Colbert replied. "Get up you useless pieces of trash!" he commanded as they stood up shakily and reformed two columns.

Sachi, who was flaringly angry at this point, tried to contain her anger by clenching her fists. She just despised it. She wondered, why would you call your guild members trash? Guild members were supposed to be your closest friends. The people you respected and trusted, not someone you could call a piece of trash and order around.

Although they still had 100% of their HP on the outside, the strenuous fights of SAO left a fatigue that couldn't be seen. The player's real bodies in the other world may not be moving a muscle, but the feeling of weariness still stayed until they either slept or rested on this side. Based on what they saw, those Army players were already exhausted, since they weren't used to fighting on the front-lines.

"…I wonder if they'll be okay…" Klein spoke in a worried voice as the Army members disappeared into the passageway that led to the higher floor.

"They're not stupid enough to challenge the boss are they?" Asuna replied worried as well. There was an air of recklessness with that man named Colbert.

"Should we see what they're doing?" Kirito asked. Not only did Klein, Asuna, and the other 5 members of Fuurinkazan agree, but Sachi, Norie and Keshiga also wanted to accompany them.

Quickly pacing themselves, a sound reached Kirito's ears. He could tell that Klein was whispering to Asuna behind him, and he was wondering if he hadn't received enough jabs when the content of their conversation surprised him.

"Ah— Asuna-san, how should I put this...that guy, Kirito, please treat him well. Even though he's not very good with words, isn't very fun, and is a battle-crazed idiot." He muttered to her

"Klein!" Sachi slapped him on the back of his head. She, frankly, disagreed with everything that Klein said about Kirito.

Hearing this also, Kirito dashed back and yanked Klein's bandana as hard as he could. "W-what are you talking about?"

The katana-wield cocked his head and scratched his goatee.

"It's remarkable that you're partying with someone. Even if it's because you fell for Asuna, it's still an extraordinary amount of progress. That's why I—"

"I-I didn't fall for her!"

Kirito argued back. But for some reason, Klein, his party members, and even Asuna, Sachi and the rest all looked at him with a smile on their faces. He couldn't do anything except silently turn back around and keep walking.

Then he heard Asuna declare:

"Please leave him to me!"

Sachi giggled at the act as she knew what was up between Kirito and Asuna. She had known for a very long time indeed.

He ran to the passageway that led up to the next floor while making a loud racket with his boots.

Half an hour passed, but still nothing.

"Maybe they used crystals to escape?" Klein joked, but no one believed that they would have done that. As a result, the group subconsciously sped up their footsteps as they walked down the long passage. When they were about halfway down, they stopped to listen.

"Ahhh…" There was a faded noise that was without a doubt, a scream.

Of course, it didn't belong to a monster. Glaring at each other, they began sprinting. Since Asuna, Kirito, and Sachi had the higher AGI than everyone else, they ran faster than everyone else.

"Sachi!" Norie called out before she locked blades with a «Dusk Lizard».

"Oi!" Klein also called out.

Soon, the great double doors came into sight, which they were already open. They could see the blue flames flickering inside and a huge shadow moving slowly within its depth. There were intermittent sounds of screaming and metals clashing.

"No..!" Asuna screamed with grief and accelerated her speed. Sachi was following closely behind her with Kirito right next to her.

"Asuna! Wait!" She called out desperately trying to catch up. Sachi did invest into AGI more than STR, but she had to balance out the STR in order to compensate for her damage loss due to the «Fragarach».

The pillars flashed on either side of the passage flashed past them. Nearing the door, they reduced their speed, causing sparks to fly off their boots.

"Oof!" Sachi even managed to fall over because of the energy building up as she ran.

"Hey! Are you guys alright?" Kirito shouted as he helped Sachi get up. Inside… was what looked like hell.

The massive zanbato like sword from the «Gleameyes» flourished, a huge flaming breath streaked out of its mountain goat like head. The damage that «The Army» dealt to its HP didn't break the one third. Across from the room, was a bunch of silhouettes, their sizes tiny compared to the demon. It was the army group, scrambling for their lives.

They no longer had any order to speak of, and as Kirito, Sachi and Asuna scanned the group, they noticed that there were two missing. Kirito thought that it was good those two escaped by using a teleport crystal, but even as he was thinking that, one of them was hit by the side of the massive zanbato and went flying. His HP hit the red zone.

"How did this…" Sachi muttered. She didn't understand it as much as Kirito did, but the demon had managed to get in between the Army and the exit, resulting in a no fleeing zone.

"What are you doing!? Use your «Teleportation Crystal»!"

He looked Kirito's way, and shouted, "That doesn't work…! T-The crystals aren't working!"

"What…?" Kirito couldn't say anything. But during his speechless moment, he heard a light thump and looked to his side.

"«Anti-Crystal Area»…." Sachi muttered gravely as she dropped to her knees again. She glared at her trembling hands unable to say anything. Her voice gagged as the visions of that unfortunate day flashed in her head. "Anti….crystal…"

Kirito knew Sachi was deeply disturbed at the mere thought of an «Anti-Crystal Area», mainly because the area was the cause of that traumatizing day a little over a year ago to her. He understood that it was almost impossible for someone to recover fully from something like that.

"Sachi…." Kirito knelt beside her rubbing her shoulder in comfort, "Will you be okay?"

Sachi nodded weakly as she wiped the tears that managed to surface from her eyes.

"How can that…?!" Asuna breathed in sharply ignoring the concern of Kirito for a moment. This wasn't a case where they could just run in and save them.

"What are you saying!? The word retreat does not exist in the Liberation Army! Fight! Fight I tell you!" Colbert's voice shouted.

"You bastard!" Sachi screamed out in complete anger in unison with her sorrow. Two people were dead because of this cursed «Anti-Crystal Area», but that wasn't what she was angry about, she was angry about the unruly idiot that led those two people to death.

Then, Klein, his party, Norie and Keshiga arrived.

"What's happening?!"

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out as he noticed she was kneeling on the ground, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine…"

"This doesn't look good.." Norie said panting as she caught up.

Kirito quickly informed the rest about the current situation.

"Isn't… Isn't there anything we can do…?" Klein asked.

Just as he asked, Colbert shouted again, "Charge!" Two of the ten had already lost almost their entire HP and were lying on the ground. The other eight had gotten into lines of four with Cobert in the center, who led the charge with his sword raised high.

"No—!"

It was such a pointless attack. If all eight of them ran in together, they wouldn't be able to use their sword skills properly and would only add to the confusion. They should be fighting defensively, rotating in one person at a time to deal damage, and then quickly switching out for the next member.

The demon straightened up and gave a ground-shaking roar before breathing out a blinding jet of fire. It seemed as if the breath counted as a damage-inflicting attack, and the eight slowed as the blue light of the flames engulfed them. The demon seized its chance and swung its huge sword. The body of a person was knocked into the air, flew over the demon's head, and then crashed hard into the ground before the group.

It was Cobert.

His HP had vanished. With an expression that didn't even seem to understand the situation, he slowly moved his mouth.

—_This is impossible._

He said soundlessly. Then, with a nerve-rending sound effect that pierced their souls, his body had shattered into a swirl of polygons. Still on the ground, Sachi screamed out despairingly as she violently gripped the sides of her head and cringed over.

With their leader gone, the Army members immediately fell into chaos. They ran around screaming. All of their HP counts were already below the halfway mark.

"No... No... No more..."

As Kirito heard Asuna's strained voice, he glanced sideways towards her. He immediately rushed to grab her arm...

But it was already too late.

"No—!"

Like a flash of light, Kirito rushed forward even faster at first sight of Asuna getting knocked down. Dragging his blade across the massive zanbato of the «Gleameyes», the demon's sword hit the floor only a few centimeters away from Asuna, digging a huge hole in the ground with an explosion like sound effect.

"Get back!" Kirito called out as he fought with the monster. There was no room for him to counter attack because with each swing of its sword, it felt as if it could take his life at any moment. Eventually, Kirito was struck, and he felt a stunning impact as his HP dropped immensely. Looking up from his stunned position, he saw the sword of the demon swing downward. He raised his sword upward to try to block, fully knowing that it was too little too late.

Clang!

Norie's unicorn tail swiveled furiously with the gust of wind the impact of Ellen and the zanbato caused. "Nrrgg!" Norie grunted as she pushed back the demon. Norie was possibly the only person who could withstand the relentless attacks from the «Gleameyes».

Without having to say anything or show any signs of switching, Sachi burst forward quickly recovering from mental breakdown only a couple of minutes before. Gliding past the free hand of the demon trying to swipe her away, Sachi delivered an uppercut to its chest. The «Gleameyes» quickly retaliated by cutting through the air with its zanbato like a hot knife through butter. Sachi narrowly blocked it, but the impact shook her as if a truck went streaming into her path, and she was sent flying.

Keshiga, who showed no signs of hesitation, used «Leap» to try to get a surprise attack on the «Gleameyes», unfortunately, before he could get any sort of jab with his spear down, the demon managed to grab him by the legs and flailed him around, eventually letting go. He smacked the wall with a loud thud as his HP took a hit.

"Sachi! Keshiga!" Kirito called out. There was only one thing he could do; he would have to use every ounce of everything he had as a damage dealer.

"Asuna! Klein! Norie! Give me ten seconds!" He shouted and swung his sword hard to block the demons blow as it turned its attention back to him rather than Norie. He then flung himself around and rolled away to give way to Klein. But Klein's katana and Asuna's rapier relied on speed, and therefore lacked weight. It was understandable that Ellen would be able to block exceptionally well because she was a cutlass type weapon, which were good for parries and weighed considerably.

Kirito laid on the floor opening his window as fast as he could. He couldn't afford to make a single mistake now. With his heart pounding against his chest, he began moving the fingers of his right hand, scrolling down his item list, picked something from it, and equipped it. The opened his skill window and changed his weapon skill. Pressing OK, he confirmed the additional weight on his back, and shouted

"I'm done!"

He saw Klein get hit once, and his HP decreased as he stepped back. Normally, he should have used a crystal to heal himself, but that wasn't possible in this room. Now, Asuna was fighting with the demon, and within just a few seconds her HP had already gone below the halfway mark and turned yellow.

After she heard Kirito, Asuna nodded with her back towards him and gave a short shout before executing a piercing skill.

"Yaaaa!"

A white streak of light flew through the air and struck The Gleameyes' weapon, causing sparks to spray out. As a loud noise resounded, the distance between Asuna and the demon widened.

In an attempt to take one last swing at Asuna, the «Gleameyes» rushed forward with a downward diagonal, but only to be deflected by Norie. Out of anger and frustration, the «Gleameyes» laid a barrage of attacks at her. With on hard swing, Norie managed to stun the boss for a split second, enabling her to roll out of the way for Kirito.

Kirito charged straight at the enemy as soon as he saw an opening. The demon quickly recovered from the short stun that Norie inflicted and raised its sword up high. With the sword in his right hand, he blocked the flame like blade. Then, he reached behind his back and drew the other sword from his back in one smooth movement, and the demon's HP dropped noticeably as the first hit registered.

The demon roared with rage as it attempted another downward strike. This time, Kirito crossed his two swords and blocked completely, after, deciding to break from his defensive position and launched a combo attack.

Sachi, slowly recovering from her collision with the wall, rocked her head as she cleared her vision to a rather familiar display of sword skills. In slow realization, Sachi realized that Kirito was using «Dual Blades». She stared in awe along with everyone else as he unleashed his 16 hit combo, «Starburst Stream».

When his senses returned, he noticed that the «Gleameyes» shattered into countless blue shards. Feeling dizzy from the aftereffects, sheathed his swords, and checked his HP. It was nearly empty, and he suddenly fell back into blackness.

Kirito slowly woke to Asuna's calls. He looked around muttering "Owww" He was still in the boss room.

"You idiot! Why?!" Asuna asked as she was kneeling on the ground, face right in front of Kirito. She shouted and jumped into his arms hugging him.

"Don't hug me so tight, you're going to make my HP disappear" Kirito joked as Sachi winced at the half serious joke. Asuna frowned as she shoved a small bottle into his mouth. His HP should heal in a bit, but the fatigue would last.

"All «the Army» members are healed and accounted for, but a total of three casualties, including Colbert" Norie said reluctantly.

"Yea, that's the first time since the 67th floor that someone died during a boss fight…" Klein added.

"We were on a good streak too" Keshiga noted.

Klein spat out a phrase of spite before taking a long breath, and asked Kirito in an attempt to change the mood. "But back to the topic, what the hell was that just then?"

"Do I really have to explain it?"

"Of course you do! I've never seen anything like that before?" Klein asked just as confusedly as everyone else other than Sachi. She was the only one who knew what was up with «Dual Blades»

"It's an extra skill, «Dual Blades»"

There was an air of amazement among Kleins party, Norie, Keshiga, and the survivors while Sachi gave Kirito a look of "are you sure?" to him.

Naturally, Klein was interested and urged him to tell the rest. "The conditions?"

"I'd have told everyone if I knew" Kirito replied shaking his head.

Klein shook his head in return as she planted his hands on his hips, "I'm disappointed Kirito. You never told me you had such an awesome skill"

"I would have told you if I knew the conditions, but I really don't know" Kirito answered with a shrug. The only other person who knew of his secret up until now was Sachi, and it was kept confidential between him and her as «Unique Skill» users.

"If it became known that I had such a rare skill, a lot of people would pester me for information, and it might even attract some problems too"

"Gamer jealousy" Norie said.

"Ah, you're glad I'm an understanding guy, but there are sure other people that won't be so nice as I am" Klein said as he smiled, "Well just consider suffering as another way of training young Kirito" Thumping Kirito on the shoulder, Klein approached the survivors of «The Army»

"You guys think you'll be able to make it back to HQ by yourselves?"

One of them nodded, he was a boy in his teens.

"Tell them what happened here today, and that they shouldn't do something this stupid again" Keshiga reprimanded.

As they disappeared with a blue light, they bowed deeply before leaving a trail of blue light behind.

"We're going to continue on to the next floor, how about you? You're the man of the day, so do you want to do it?" Klein asked.

"Nah, I'll leave it to you" Kirito replied

"Ah, be careful then." Klein nodded and signaled to his teammates onto the next floor. Before heading out, he gave Kirito a thumbs up and his traditional wink.

Sighing at his oldest friend in SAO, Kirito turned his attention to one of his oldest friends in SAO.

"Well, that was a pleasant surprise" Norie said cupping her mouth in the bend of her arm and sneezed, "I knew you were a special kid Kirito. It's about time you got your cut eh?"

"Aha" Kirito chuckled in reply.

"That was the coolest thing I have ever seen Kirito! I mean seriously! That was awesome!" Keshiga's voice rang out as it echoed through the boss room.

"Glad to hear it Keshiga"

Sachi approached Kirito with a rather light grin on her face. Leaning forward a bit to get closer to him, she said, "I kept my mouth shut" Accompanied with a slight giggle

"My bad Sachi" Kirito replied as he chuckled also, "So what'll you do now?"

"I guess we could explore the new floor. Getting a head start before everyone else sounds like a good idea right? It should give the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon» a better presence I hope" Sachi droned off as she started heading towards the new floor. "We'll be seeing you okay Kirito?"

"Alright then, see you Sachi" Kirito waved as Sachi and the rest waved back.

"I wonder what kind of food they have on the next floor" Ellen inquired as she floated next to Norie.

"I'm sure they'll have something good" Norie replied.

**Aincrad 75****th**** Floor, Collinia**

"Halloweens coming up you know" Keshiga noted as he gulped his dark coffee down.

"I know" Sachi replied as she frowned while drinking some of her own coffee. Even to this day, she never really enjoyed the bitter taste. "Why do people drink coffee anyway? It's yucky" she complained.

"If you've never needed it, then don't start it" Norie cautioned, "Coffee is to keep you awake, despite the taste."

"Huh…" Sachi stared bleakly into the dark brown liquid. She's never really had to stay up at night. Sachi was a good student; she got her work done during the day. So there was never really the need for caffeine.

"Achoo!" Norie sneezed as she rubbed her nose again. "I think I should get back and rest a bit" she said taking one last sip of tea. "C'mon Ellen, you can ask Sakai to make you something to eat at home"

"Okay" Ellen replied as she took one last bite of her banana cake and slid down the chair following Norie. "Bye Sachi, bye Keshiga" she waved her little hand as any child would.

"Bye Ellen. Get plenty of rest Norie" Sachi waved back.

"Hope you get better soon!" Keshiga added.

After settling down with a regular hot chocolate, Sachi sighed and crossed her arms.

"What's wrong hun?" Her husband asked in a rather teasing tone.

"I told you not to call me that" Sachi frowned lightly and furrowed her brow slightly.

Staying silent for a few moments, Keshiga rested his chin on his hand glaring at Sachi. "You knew about Kirito's skill didn't you?" He asked.

Raising an eyebrow before nodding, Sachi mumbled in reply.

"For how long?"

"Since June"

"I knew it" Keshiga said patting his fist into his palm.

"What do you mean?" His wife asked him in somewhat disarray.

"Well, after that one day in June, I've noticed that you've been playing around with two swords in your hand" Keshiga pointed out with a wink. Players could duel wield swords, it was universal, but no one could ever be "proficient" at it, as it strained the mind excessively much so. Since it does take a massive mental toll to do so, it was easier and safer for players to stick with single swords.

"Wh-when did you see that?!" Sachi asked nervously as she stood up leaning forward to get an answer out of Keshiga.

"I peeked through the crack of your door as I was passing by" Keshiga mumbled as he turned his head to avoid her gaze.

"You..what?!" Sachi spoke aloud as she started pounding her fists at Keshiga, with a o expression on her red face, "Wahhhhh!" she wined extremely embarrassedly, "Why would you do something like that?" she asked rhetorically.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Keshiga replied while giggling, trying to stop the onslaught of punches that came from Sachi.

"What kind of person just goes and peeks into someone's ro-..?" Sachi was about to asked before Keshiga leaned forward and kissed her. A light "Mmmmhh" was heard as her eyes widened, and lowered.

Pulling away from him after a moment, Sachi sat back down in her chair, blushing slightly.

"Hmph!" Sachi puffed her cheeks and turned to her side, still cross with Keshiga.

"Sorry" Keshiga replied with a smile and a rub on the back of his head.

Letting it go, Sachi sighed as she turned back to face Keshiga, "I guess I shouldn't let this get to me" she said sighing once more before sipping her drink.

"Okay then…" Keshiga replied, "Now, how about we go explore the rest of this floor?"

"Sounds like a plan"

**November 1****st****, Aincrad 75****th**** Floor**

"The mobs on this floor are tough" Sachi complained as she shackled her aching shoulder.

"Maybe you just got lazy" Keshiga joked as he tapped her on the head.

"Speak for yourself" Sachi nudged him in the side with a smile.

The two of them were just enjoying a nice outing together on the 75th Floor of Aincrad along the southern portion of the floor.

"Sachiiii!" a voice called out from behind the couple as it echoed through the light forest. "Sachi!"

"Huh?" Sachi wondered as she and Keshiga looked back. Of all the people in Aincrad, it was Taru who was calling her name.

"Sachi! Keshiga! There you two are" Taru called out as he ran as fast as he could to catch up to them.

"Oh no, Taru, what happened this time?" Keshiga asked expecting Taru to break down in tears or something.

"Haa…haaa" He responded trying to catch his breath, "Nothing…haa.."

"Then what were you calling out my name for?" Sachi asked as she tilted her head.

"That's right, I wanted to talk to you guys about something important" Taru started to say as he brushed his fingers through his brown hair, "It's Norie's birthday soon"

**A/N: Well, here you guys go. Got that published rather fast didn't I? Heh, anyway, I wanted to involve Sachi and the gang a bit more into the mainstream events of SAO. So I tried my best to incorporate lines for them in between the LN lines, but of course, most of this chapter I derived from the actual LN, so I big thank you to that. I did a relatively good job in writing up this chapter, some more cute Keshiga x Sachi moments went about here and there, but I tried to keep it rather light. I also recently noticed that the spotlight has deviated away from Norie for a bit, so I kind of wanted to focus some more on her back story, as, she is my most developed character as of late. **

**Anyway, expect a light mid chapter next. My story's winding down to an end for the SAO arc, so stay tuned okay? **


	22. Chapter 21-5

Chapter 21.5 – Happy Birthday

**October 25, 2024 Aincrad 75****th**** Floor**

Crowds and cheers were going on and off in the Coliseum as Sachi, Keshiga, Norie and the others took seats towards the front. They were about to witness the duel between Heathcliff and Kirito.

"Now I have no hope of winning against Kirito" Hana complained as she crossed her legs and arms. "Now that he's got the «Unique Skill» of his"

"Come now Hana, don't think like that" Sakai tilted her head intently as she fixed her large round glasses

"Do you think he'll win?" Ellen wondered aloud as she munched on a handful of a popcorn like treat that Norie got for her from the local vendors.

"I doubt it…" Sachi replied quietly, staring at Heathcliff. She was worried. Having dueled the leader of the «KoB» before, she was sure that something about this was really fishy.

_Kirito stood there in the preparation room underneath the seating stands, wondering to himself how he got into this predicament in the first place. Thinking about it for a second, his train of thought was interrupted the sound of light footsteps behind him, turning around, it was Sachi._

"_Sachi"_

"_Are you sure about doing this Kirito?" Sachi asked _

"_It's okay, I can't back down now, or else it would give me a bad reputation" Kirito joked lightly_

"_Well… then, there's one thing I need to say" Sachi waved a finger up, "Be careful. There's something about Heathcliff that's... off…"_

'_What do you mean?"_

"_I don't know how to describe it really… that time I dueled him… just be cautious, or else it'll be too late. You'll know it when you see it" Sachi said before waving her hand up, "Well, I have to get back. Good luck Kirito, ne?"_

"_Okay, thanks Sachi" Kirito waved back giving some thought to the advice that Sachi gave him. What did she mean? He pondered._

"There he is!" Moto said to everyone as he pointed towards the opposite side of the arena, where the black clad figure of Kirito walked slowly into the sand glazed arena, with two swords sheathed on his back.

With this shout, Sachi broke from her previous conversation with Kirito and focused on the duel. She wanted to confirm that fraction of a second, where reaction speed will go past the recognized limit of the game.

Like bright lights flashing on and off in the mid-sized distance that Kirito and Heathcliff were fighting away from the Black Cats, Sachi squinted her eyes and focused on Heathcliff. Trying to ignore the shouts and cheers of the audience around her, and especially the hollering of her guild members, she saw it.

How should she describe it? It was as if time itself slowed down, and eventually freeze. Everything except Heathcliff froze and his tower shield that should have been on the left suddenly appeared on the left. In the blink of an eye, the winner of the dual window appeared as it pointed towards Heathcliff.

His battle state had disappeared. Kirito simply laid there, his mind blank, even as the cheering registered in his head once again.

"Kirito-kun!"

Asuna ran over and shook him back to his senses.

"Ah...yeah... I'm fine."

Asuna looked at the blank expression on his face with worry.

_I lost—?_

He still couldn't believe it. Heathcliff's unearthly speed during those final moments had gone past the limits of a player— past the limits of any human. He even saw the polygons that made up his avatar distort for a moment because of the impossible speed. Then he suddenly remember what Sachi had cautioned, "_You'll know it once you see it"_

**November 5, 2019 – Real World**

"_Here you go Keren, (Real Ellen's real name. Ellen is her nickname), that was all the money I had." Norie said handing Keren (Ellen) a small bag of candy to snack on in Kindergarten._

"_It's okay Norie!" Keren replied happily taking the gift from her older sister. "Here! I'm sure you want some too!" she added taking a little purple gumball out and holding it up to Norie._

"_Ah, thanks" Norie replied picking it up with her index finger and thumb, "Now, hurry up or you'll be late to school. Have fun okay?" She added before popping the gumball in her mouth. It was a sour grape flavor. _

"_Mmh!" Keren replied with a bright smile on her dimpled cheeks. "Bye Norie!"_

"_Bye Ellen…" Norie waved as her younger sister disappeared behind the other kids walking to school. She smiled bittersweetly, Norie was glad that the troubles of the world weren't known to her. She was glad that Ellen wasn't exposed to the horrors that people do to each other, something that Norie was very familiar with as she rubbed the bruise on her shoulder. _

"_It'll pass Norie, just be patient." Norie said to herself as she waved at Taru, who was approaching her to say hello._

"_Happy birthday Norie!" Taru said hugging her and patting the now 16 year old Norie. "What are you going to do to celebrate?"_

"_I don't know yet…" Norie replied gripping her schoolbag with both hands, "I don't have any money, and I don't get my paycheck until Thursday" Norie worked at a restaurant as a waitress. Even thought it was hard work, her coworkers were friendly, and she liked her job. _

"_Hey, how about we take you out to dinner! Everyone would be glad to help pay for your meals" Taru suggested with strange enthusiasm contrast to his shy and crybaby like nature._

"_No… I can't burden you guys like that" Norie politely refused._

"_It's okay, try to have some fun and don't worry about burdening us. If it burdened us, we wouldn't offer it in the first place!" Taru said._

"_Alright, fine fine. Thanks Taru. You're a good friend"_

**November 5, 2024 ****«New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House»**

"Hmmmm…" Norie sighed rather gloomily as she crossed her arms, slouching on the couch. "_Today's my birthday."_ She thought to herself as she glared upon her happy guild mates enjoying a day off.

"Something wrong Norie?" Irina asked as she flopped onto the couch with her, causing a light poof!

"It's nothing" She replied shaking her head. Little did her friends know about this special day of hers, not even Ellen knew. But Norie didn't care; she wanted to keep her birthday a secret to everyone else. Finishing off her bitter dark coffee, she stood up and picked up her sword.

"C'mon Ellen, let's go" She said fixing her goggle cap.

"Okay!" Ellen replied said as she hovered upward by Norie's side.

"Where are you going?" Futaro inquired peeping his face from the upper edge of his newspaper.

"Hunting" She replied promptly

"Alone?" Moto inquired, "Do you want us to come with you?"

"Nah, it's okay. You guys enjoy your day off" The light creak of the front door was heard before a click indicated that Norie had left.

As soon as he made sure that Norie wasn't within the area anymore, Sachi stood up and began to say, "Okay, so does everyone know what they have to do?"

Everyone nodded in reply.

"Okay, then. We'll split up now, and meet up at Sakai restaurant at noon okay?"

**Aincrad 75****th**** Floor, Plains of Dissonance**

The Plains of Dissonance was a rather hilly plain with extremely few trees. Norie traveling around the western portion of the floor. Deciding to take a break, she leaned back against one of the few trees in the area next to the dirt pathway, and glared up at the next floor above. Frankly, no players in SAO will ever make it to the next floor.

"Hey Norie" Ellen said as she popped her head from the tree above, as she hung upside-down with her pink hair dangling.

"What?" Norie asked as she looked upward

"I heard Asuna and Kirito got married, is that true?"

"Mhm" Norie nodded as she took her cap off, "I always knew those two had the hots for each other" she chuckled before yawning. "I think I'll take a nap, wake me up if someone passes by"

Without her knowing, Ellen decided to take a nap as well, yawning also after Norie began snoring lightly, she disappeared into her sword home, glowing faintly.

After an hour or so, Ellen's keen sense of hearing picked up a pair of footsteps that were heading their way. It could be a solo player she figured, but it could also be a red player, then again, the red player guilds were nearly wiped out now. So she decided to wait to see if the player ignored Norie and kept walking. They didn't, and began to come closer and closer to them. Wiggling a bit in her sheath, she gave the message to Norie as Norie woke up from her shallow nap without moving an inch. Just as the player was upon them, Norie instantly gripped Ellen and pointed the tip at the player.

"Trying to sleep here" Norie joked not moving from her sitting position.

"Woah!" The player called out as he raised both his hands out of surprise. "That wasn't my intention" he said hastily fixing his glasses again.

Scanning his face, the player who was in front of her was quite familiar. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you." She said while scratching her head, tilting her it, she asked, "Wait, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"Ah, we have actually" The young man said bowing. His black hair hung freely from his face as his fragile looking hands ran themselves through his hair, "My names Gandor, The Black Cats came to me concerning the events with the «Errand Knights», remember?"

"Ah that's right! Sorry about that" Norie apologized to the leader of «Occult Frenzy».

"No it's okay. It was my fault if I seemed like a threat. It does get dangerous if you're alone." Gandor replied as he played around with the handle of his two handed sword that was sheathed on his back.

"It does indeed." Norie replied getting up and stretching, "So what brings you here?"

"Oh nothing, I decided to explore the floor for the time being, as most of my guild is out doing errands right now."

"Understandable" Norie said sheathing Ellen and placing a hand on her hip, "Well, since you are here, I'm working on a quest, do you want to come along?"

"Ah no, sorry. I was just on my way back to town to appraise some items"

"Well, okay. See you then" She said as Gandor began to depart.

"See you around" he waved as he walked down the path at a leisurely pace. Making sure that Norie was out of sight, he opened up his menu and put Sachi on instant message. "Hello, Sachi? Yea, it's me, yea. She's going to do a quest right now, so you should be in the clear for an hour or two."

**Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, Streets of Ronbaru**

"Well that was a productive day" Norie said as she flexed her arms, walking through the streets of Ronbaru. It was nearing dusk as the sun was setting in its orange glow over the floor. Again, there is no sun actually present for each floor, as it is just present for all floors instead. "Ellen?" she asked as Ellen wasn't responding. "Are you sleeping" she tapped her hilt. Still no response. Norie figured that Ellen was sleeping, she did do a lot of fighting over the course of the day, so Ellen must be rather tired.

Humming a tune to herself as she wiped her feet on the front porch of the guild house. She was lonely on her birthday, and to add insult to injury, she was hungry too. Sighing, she only had herself to blame instead of telling everyone it was her birthday. Then again, she didn't want to sound too boisterous. Anyway, Norie shook her head as she opened the door. "I'm home!" she called out, but no response. "Hello?" she asked peering through the dark living room. "Where is everyone…" she wondered as she wandered through the dark, searching for the light switch. As soon as she found it, Ellen instantly popped out of nowhere, with that same mask she got over a year ago screaming "Bwahhhh!" with her arms outstretched.

"Aaaack!" Norie jumped scared out of her wits for a second, "Ellen!"

Ellen giggled loudly as she took the mask off. "Happy late Halloween!"

Norie sighed slightly disapprovingly as she tilted her head. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked jokingly as she shook her head.

"Hehehe" Ellen smiled a toothy grin, "Hey! There's a note for you Norie" she said suddenly changing the topic as she swiped the small envelope from the coffee table and held it up for Norie to see.

"What is it this time?" Norie asked exasperatedly as she opened the note.

_We're having dinner at Sakai's restaurant, come join us there_

"Sakai's restaurant? Seems a bit unconventional since she could always cook at home…" Norie muttered.

**Aincrad 41****st**** Floor, ****«Culin»**

"C'mon.. .c'mon guys, hurry up!" Sachi urged and urged. "Where's the banner Hana?"

"I don't know! Futaro was supposed to pick it up" Hana replied rather frustratedly

"I got it here!" Futaro said hastily as he crashed through the door. "They finished the order late, so I had to wait a couple hours"

"Finally! Hurry up and put it up there" Sachi ordered as she directed where.

"Keshiga! Is the food ready?"

"Almost done with the cake!" Keshiga called out from the kitchen window.

"Moto! Do you have the note on you?" Sachi asked as she turned to face him.

"Sure do! Put it on the coffee table for Norie already!" Moto replied proudly.

"You what!?" Sachi called out dumbfoundedly.

"Err, yea?" He said nervously at Sachi sudden call out.

"Oh Moto! You weren't supposed to leave there yet! I just told you to hang onto it!" Sachi said with her eyes wide at realizing what just happened.

"You did? I thought you meant to leave it there for her!" Moto wined trying to defend his innocence.

"Oh…ohhh…too early…" Sachi said with extreme worry as she her hands were cupped to the sides of her head, "What do we do? Norie's going to be here any moment and we aren't done decorating her party…" Sachi was scared that Norie's surprise party would be ruined

**ooo**

"Mmh, I wonder what Sakai is cooking" Norie mumbled to herself as she walked down the stone paved street to Sakai's restaurant. Looking up, she saw the lights on, and through the window she saw…. Sachi? She was running around and around, pointing in all directions, with a constant look of nervousness and worry on her face.

"I wonder what's up…" Norie wondered as she turned the knob of the restaurant and walked in.

Hearing the door open behind her, Sachi turned around and said, "Taru, there you are-…!?" her voice croaked up as she saw Norie. "N-N-N-Norie!"

"What's going on here…?" Norie asked as she looked around, there were balloons and streamers hanging about. There was also a large banner that said "Happy Birthday Norie!" that wasn't completely hung up. She looked back at Sachi with a grin on her face.

"H-happy birthday Norie?" Sachi said nervously as everyone else followed in suit.

**ooo**

Well, the surprise was ruined, but the party still followed as everyone ate the delicious meal that Sakai had prepared for them. Everyone was there; all the members of the Black Cats, Klein and his guys were there too. «Occult Frenzy» and the «Errand Knights» were also present to celebrate. Even Lisbeth, Silica, and Agil were invited. Asuna and Kirito were invited also, but as recent events have shown, they couldn't make it.

"I don't understand" Norie said after taking a massive gulp of her orange soda, "How did you guys find out my birthday? I never told anyone"

"Oh, well a little bird informed us" Sachi said slyly as she smiled

"Guess who?" A voice said from behind Norie as their hands covered her eyes.

The voice was so familiar to Norie as she chuckled in reply. "Taru!" she called out as she got up, turned around, gave her best friend a big hug as she kissed him on the cheek. "Why do I always get the feeling that you're the one behind this?"

"Maybe because I want to be a great friend?" Taru asked jokingly as he took a seat next to the birthday girl.

Something about that phrase made Sachi remember something, "Speaking of which, I think you would want this back." Sachi said taking something out of her quick slot bag. It was a small yellow pin with a smiley face on it.

"My pin!" Ellen hollered out as Sachi held it out in the palm of her hand, "How long have you had it?"

"Around a year or so. I completely forgot about it until yesterday. Anyway, it's not really a gift for you Norie, but I'm sure you would be happy to have it back." Sachi said giving it back to Ellen.

Smiling out of pleasure for having her favorite pin back, Ellen looked at Norie and said, "Here Norie, you can have it!"

"Are you sure Ellen?" Norie asked taking the pin in her hands, "It is your favorite after all"

"Mm! Why not give it to my favorite person in the world? You could put it on your hat!" Ellen said taking it back and floated upward to pin it to her cap, on the right side of her head.

"Don't you think it looks a bit out of place?" Norie asked as she looked at it. The pin did stand out very much so, a yellow pin surrounded by the black material of Norie's cap.

"Nope, it looks great!" Ellen replied happily

"Well, if you say so…" Norie noticed a little notification that her total HP had gone up by a little bit, but not by a really noticeable amount.

Throughout the widespread fellowship and fun, Sachi and her band of friends were enjoying a day away from the troubles of SAO. Of course, fun times are short lived as Sachi received a message from Heathcliff.

_I need your assistance in clearing the 75__th__ floor boss._

_-Heathcliff_

**A/N: Well, I wanted this chapter to be short and simple: It was Norie's birthday. Might seem pretty rushed. I think so too, but then again, I didn't give this chapter much thought mainly because it was supposed to be included in the previous chapter, but I didn't find any good bridges into it, so I decided to put it as a mini-chapter. Anyway, don't give it too much thought, the only significant event in this chapter is Ellen giving Norie her pin. **

**Okay then guys, the final chapters are next, and I'll be definitely working hard on those chapters for this story to go out with a boom! See you next time!**


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22 – A Reason to Live

"_Mom?" I asked wandering around the house, wondering where she was. Trotting into the kitchen, I saw my mother, sitting at the dining table by herself. She was flipping through a photo album while sighing to herself constantly, mug of coffee in hand. "What's wrong mom?"_

"_Oh… Sachiyo…" Mom said presently closing the album as I took a seat in front of her._

"_What were you looking at?" I inquired as I glanced at the large golden text on the memory book, __**Wedding~**__ it said. "Are you looking at photos of dad?"_

"_It's not important" Mom replied hastily getting up and shelving the book. "Now, hurry and finish breakfast, or else you'll be late"_

"_I'm never late mom" I replied sarcastically as I leisurely bit into my toast with jam. _

_Mom chuckled lightly as she got up and kissed me on the head, "Keep it that way" she said gently._

_Getting up as I finished, I grabbed my bag and started my way out the door. "I'm going to school!" I called out._

"_Have a good day Sachi!" Mom called back from the living room as she waved. Turning her attention back to the TV, the news was on._

"_In National news today, game developer Kayaba Akihito announces that his creation the Nerve Gear, which revolutionized the gaming world, will be released this November, along with the game, Sword Art Online. Interviews with him-"_

_Eri Shibaguchi turned off the TV instantly. She didn't want to hear the name Kayaba Akihito._

_ooo_

_As I walked down the street to school, I wondered. Memories of my dad flashed in my head, but then again, it's been 12 years. He left when I was 4. I hardly remember anything. Then again, who can blame me? Not many people can remember things when they're just a little kid. And ever since he left, his face became more and more distant, but one thing remains close to me: his gentle smile._

**November 7, 2024 Aincrad 27****th**** Floor, ****«New Black Cats of the Full Moon Guild House»**

Sachi opened her eyes slowly to the fresh fall morning. Getting up slowly and rubbing her eyes, "Todays the day…" she said as she looked to her right. Keshiga, her husband, was snoring loudly with his mouth wide open as he laid next to her, all spread out.

"Keshiga…" Sachi said shaking him lightly, "Wake up, we have to get ready for today"

"Mmmh….five more minutes…." Keshiga muttered in his sleep burying himself under the sheets.

Sachi sighed to herself as she stood up, flattened out her nightgown, and went over to the window, pulling part the curtains. The sun was beading brightly through the frosted glass of her window.

"Time… to…. Wake…. Up!" she called out pulling the sheets from Keshiga.

"Ahahahaha! My eyes!" Keshiga hollered out trying to block the sun from his eyes rather comically. "Ehhh..?"

**ooo**

"Hmph!" Keshiga crossed his arms curving his lower lip over his upper lip to express his cross-ness with Sachi for waking him up.

"Now, do we have our potions on hand?" Sachi asked both Norie and Keshiga.

"Right here" Norie replied pointing a small satchel on her belt.

"Buffs potions?"

"Got it" Keshiga said

"Well okay then, are we ready to clear the 75th floor?" Sachi asked lastly

Both of them nodded in reply with a murmur of reply.

"Okay! Then let's go" Sachi said before starting out the door.

"Sachi" Someone called out behind her. It was Futaro. Behind him was everyone in the guild, all of them armed with their weapons.

"What are you guys…." Sachi asked before she was interrupted.

"We want to come along" Futaro said promptly

Shaking her head, "No" Sachi replied.

'But why not? We want to help you too!" Moto refuted.

"No I said. I appreciate your wanting to help but, it's too risky."

"But what about you? What if we don't see you again? You guys have no clue how this boss fights right?" Irina asked. Though, it's quite ironic because this will be that last time that they will see Sachi, Norie, and Keshiga, in the course of SAO, and vice versa.

"You're going to need all the help you can get" Hana added.

"We'll be okay Irina. We have plenty of other players with us" Sachi responded as she placed her hands on Irina's shoulders.

"We still want to come along though"

"I said no. What if one of you guys dies?! I wouldn't know what to do if I lost one of you guys. You guys are all my family, I love you guys, and I don't want anything to happen to you. That's all…" A wave of emotions seeped their way into Sachi's words as her voice lowered into a bittersweet tone. She didn't want any of her friends to die, not since that day.

"But still…."

"Please!" Sachi begged, "Please, stay here you guys…. That's an order." She forced out the last part

Moto gasped a bit at those last words. Not once as guild leader, has Sachi ever "ordered" them to do something that they don't want to do. All of them were taken by surprise by her words, and they reluctantly obeyed, putting their weapons away. As much as they disliked their order, they had to respect Sachi's decision.

"Thank you guys… I know I don't ask for much, but thank you." Their guild leader replied while turning towards the door.

"Sachi…"

Turning her head to see what they wanted still, she asked, "Mmh?"

"Good luck eh?" Futaro said with a grin. Everyone had smiles on their faces as they wished the three of them the best of luck.

Smiling to them out of joy, "Thanks guys"

**Aincrad 75****th**** Floor, ****«Collinia»**

Most of the players that were taking part of the 75th Floor Boss were silent, or chatting lowly. It was only natural that these players would be scared, especially after hearing the rumors about how terrifying the boss of this floor potentially was. As soon as Kirito and Asuna had stepped out of the gate, they stopped talking and sent a tense glance their way. Some even gave a salute.

Salute back, Kirito felt someone thumping his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Klein, smiling under his bandana. Surprisingly, Agil's huge build stood beside him, fully equipped, which was an unusual sight for Kirito to see.

"What…? You guys are taking part as well?"

"Why? You surprised?! Aren't you taking us a bit too lightly?" Agil shouted indignantly.

"I even left my shop because I heard that you guys were having a hard time. To think that you don't appreciate my selfless sacrifice..."

Kirito hit Agil's arm as he declared with overstated body motions.

"I understand your sentiments very well. So we can count you out when we share the goods right?"

When he said that, the giant shook his bald head and gathered his eyebrows into an eight (八) sign.

"Well. Tha-That's a bit..."

As his faltering voice trailed off, Asuna and Klein simultaneously burst into laughter. It quickly spread to the other players and seemingly washed away everyone's anxiety.

It was nearing one o'clock, so Heathcliff's group should be arriving soon, exactly at one to be more precise.

"Speaking of which… here he comes now…" Kirito muttered to himself as he heard the arrival of a few players. Turning to gaze upon the new arrivals, his assumptions about Heathcliff's arrival were mislead.

"Good, we're not…huff…. Late" The ever so familiar voice of Sachi rang through Kirito's ears.

"Sachi? You're in this too…?"

"Ehh..? Well of course we're in this! We aren't a mid level clearing guild for no reason now aren't we?" Sachi proclaimed proudly as her group of four approached them.

"Heard you guys were having some trouble, and as part of our duty as a clearing guild, we need to give you guys a hand" Norie added slapping hands with Klein in the form of a high five.

"Uncle Klein!" Ellen called out giving a high five to Klein also as he rubbed her hair.

Now, as everyone acquainted themselves in petty chatter, once one o'clock hit, and several new players arrived at the gate. It was Heathcliff, dressed in his red overcoat with his huge cross-shaped shield in hand, and the elites of the KoB. A tense atmosphere overcame the players once again as they saw the newcomers.

In terms of equipment, Heathcliff probably had even better than Kirito and Asuna. Of course, that doesn't go by saying that the strength of the others wasn't considerable. Even though Sachi's been wearing extremely under leveled equipment for around a year now, she took excellent care of it. Managing to keep the durability of equipment for so long proved to be a daunting task for many players, and most just get new armor. But Sachi not only maintains durability, but she also took the effort to max the upgrades on all piece of her «Aqua Set». Not only does that boost her defense and stats, but it also makes the equipment lighter to give the feeling of increased AGI.

That is to say, the «Aqua Set» was designed to be late game equipment set despite its low level and stat requirements. Of course, some are worried that other players might have the same set, but the developers of SAO were quite smart. They developed and implemented hundreds of dozens of equipment sets, that range from the three piece to eleven piece set as to add at least some customization and diversity.

As far as weapons go, Sachi's fabled «Fragarach» was an invaluable weapon, especially now. With a +30 upgraded lightsaber, Sachi's damage was a little bit below the average for the front line players. Not bad, especially considering the armor piercing advantage that Sachi gains.

The most iconic piece of equipment that Norie wore was her goggle cap. Possibly no one else in SAO wore one like her, and that was the way she liked it. She found it all the way back when she was around the level 30's, and she's kept it ever since. She liked the way it looked, and it was also very nostalgic. Back when people still played computerized MMORPG's, she used to own a cap just like the one she had now. It reminded her of good times.

Though, Norie hasn't changed much either, even though the equipment changes, the basic style she adopted still remains. Shades of black and purple adorn her equipment. Her classic black shorts and purple boots is very iconic of her, but her most iconic piece of equipment aside from her cap is none other than her famous glowing cutlass. Wrought upon to her back in the dark caves of the 33rd floor, her most trusted companion, Ellen had stuck with her all this time.

Now, turning back to the events now told, the paladin Heathcliff and his four subordinates walked straight towards them, which split the group of assembled players into two. Klein, Agil and Sachi were forced to take a few steps back, while Asuna calmly exchanged a salute with them.

After coming to a stop, Heathcliff nodded towards them before he spoke to the entire group:

"It seems that everybody is here. Thank you all for that. I think that everybody understands our current situation. This will be a hard battle, but I believe that with your strength we will prevail. We shall fight for our freedom from this game—!"

As Heathcliff shouted in a powerful voice, the other players joined in with an inspiring roar of their own. Kirito was surprised at the charisma which drew others to him like a magnet. It was surprising to see a person with such leadership qualities amongst the hardcore gamers that usually lack social coordination, or maybe it was this world that nurtured his talents? He wondered what he did in the real world...

Heathcliff turned Kirito's way as if he had felt the Black Swordsman's gaze, and then said with a smile:

"Kirito-kun, I look forward to your efforts. I hope you'll use your «Dual Blades» to its fullest."

Finishing his statement, he turned to Sachi, "As for you Sachi-san, I hope you will use your «Fragarach» to its fullest as well"

Neither pressure nor fear could be heard from his low and soft voice. One couldn't help but be amazed at the fact that Heathcliff maintained such a laid back attitude despite facing a difficult battle ahead of them.

Both of them nodding silently, the Paladin turned back towards the players and raised his hand up into the air.

"Then we start. I will open a corridor that leads directly to the area in front of the boss room."

He took out a navy blue crystal from his pouch as he said this, sending murmurs and awe through the other players.

Normal teleport crystals can only transport the user to a chosen city's teleport gate, but the item Heathcliff had taken out was a «Corridor Crystal», which could open a teleport gate to any location that the player marked. Needless to say, it was an exceptionally useful item.

But since it was so handy, it was also extremely rare and wasn't sold in NPC shops. It could only be acquired from labyrinth treasure chests, as a drop from monsters, or from a high leveled alchemist like Sachi, so few players were willing to use it even if they had one. The reason that the players voiced their surprise was not because they had seen a rare item, but because Heathcliff was willing to use it. Even Sachi was rather surprised at this.

"Even I don't keep any for myself" she whispered to Keshiga. It was valuable indeed, and Sachi made a small fortune selling them whenever she had the ability to.

Heathcliff raised the crystal, oblivious to the stares of the other players, and yelled:

"Corridor open."

The exceedingly expensive crystal shattered and a blue whirlpool of light appeared.

"Then, everyone, follow me."

After he swept his gaze across the whole group, Heathcliff leapt into the blue light with his red clothes fluttering behind him. His body was immediately engulfed by the light and disappeared in an instant. His four KoB subordinates then followed him without delay.

At some point, many people began gathering around the plaza. They must have heard about the boss battle and had come out to see the clearers off. The warriors walked into the light one after another amidst cries of encouragement.

Before going in themselves, Sachi heard a loud cry of her name, and turning to look, she saw the «New Black Cats of the Full Moon», some members of the «Errand Knights» (Including Taru and Leah), and Gandor and Catherine from «Occult Frenzy». They were all cheering them on. Sachi smiled and waved before entering the blue wall.

Asuna and Kirito were soon the only ones left. They looked at each other and exchanged a slight nod before they held our hands and jumped into the whirlpool of light together.

After the dizzying sensation of teleportation had passed, Sachi opened her eyes and saw that they were already in the labyrinth. It was a remarkably wide corridor, with two rows of thick pillars and a huge gate at the end.

The labyrinth of the 75th floor was built from some type of faintly transparent obsidian. Unlike the crude and rough labyrinths of the lower floors, the stones here were smoothly polished and stacked together with no gaps in between. The air was cold and damp, and a thin layer of mist covered the floor.

Asuna covered herself with both arms as if she felt cold and then spoke:

"...Somehow... I have a really bad feeling..."

"Yeah..."

Everyone agreed.

In the two years up until now, they have cleared 74 labyrinths and defeated an equal number of boss monsters. After gaining so much experience, the clearers can roughly guess the strength of the boss just by looking at its lair.

The thirty players around them were all opening their windows and checking their equipped items; their expressions were all very serious.

There was a tense atmosphere reaching everyone's cores as Sachi trembled in Keshiga's arms. She was nervous, but she wasn't alone. Norie began tapping her foot furiously, which was a sign that she was nervous. Ask Taru for further verification.

Ellen was twiddling her thumbs, something she frequently did when being lectured by Norie.

"You guys nervous too?" Norie asked to Keshiga and Sachi.

"It's not the fighting that I'm scared about" Sachi replied

Norie, Keshiga and Ellen laughed lightly in this moment of tenseness. "Don't worry Sachi, we've got each other's backs, right?"

"Right" Keshiga agreed.

Nodding with a smile, Sachi said, "Let's make it out alive, okay?"

"Always do" Her husband wink and pecked her on the cheek.

Heathcliff, who had now gotten his cross-shaped shield out, spoke with his equipment clanking.

"Is everyone ready? We have no information about the boss' behavioral patterns. The KoB will be in charge of holding back the enemy's attacks; everyone should take this chance to analyze the enemy's attack patterns and counterattack accordingly."

Everybody nodded silently.

"Then— let's go."

Heathcliff said softly. Then he walked confidently over to the obsidian door and placed his hand in the middle of it. This caused everyone to become extra tense.

Kirito tapped the shoulders of Klein and Agil, who were both beside him, and told them as they turned around:

"Don't die."

"Heh, worry about yourself instead."

"I have no intention of dying before I make a fortune with the rare items I'll get from today's fight."

Kirito chuckled at their comments as he heard a light voice say from behind him, "Stay safe too Kirito ne?"

It was Sachi tiptoeing up to whisper in his ear. Turning around, he smiled at her. "Ah, you too Sachi. I want to keep the promise we made back then, okay?"

Sachi smiled back, "Mmh!" She nodded acknowledging that he still remembered the promise he made to her.

As Klein and Agil gave their arrogantly-humored responses, and Sachi her good natured one, the door began to open with a heavy sound. The players all readied their weapons, so Kirito drew both his swords with a cold and sleek shink.

Sachi also readied herself as her weapon materialized, with a light hissing. Her well known weapon still amazed some players as they stared in awe. The knowledge that three «Unique Skill» users were at their side gave them a sense of confidence at least.

Heathcliff drew his sword from his shield last. He then raised his hand up into the air and shouted,

"—Begin battle!"

Then he walked past the wide-open gates and into the room, with everyone else following right behind him.

The room's inside was shaped like a huge dome. It seemed about as wide as the arena Heathcliff and Kirito dueled in. The dark walls soared into the air and curved high above their heads. Right after the thirty-two players entered the room and got into formation— the doors behind them closed with a boom. Now it was impossible to open unless either the boss died or everyone got wiped out.

The entire group fell into silence for a long moment. Although the clearers took watch on the surrounding floor, the boss still hadn't appeared. Time held their nerves tight as one second slowly passed after another.

"Hey—"

Just as someone couldn't endure the tense silence any longer...

"Above us!"

Sachi shouted out because of her keen hearing. She picked up a strange sound coming from above, and echoed all around her. Even the slightest vibrations of sound rang in her ears.

On the ceiling of the dome- It was there.

It was exceptionally huge and long.

_A centipede-?! _Everyone thought to themselves in silent terror.

It was about ten meters long. But the body that was divided into numerous parts reminded people more of a human spine than an insect. Sharp legs made of bare bones could be seen protruding from every joint. As they shifted their glance down the body, it became thicker until the hideous skull came to sight. It wasn't the skull of a human. At the end of the smooth skull, there were two pairs of sharply upturned eye sockets with blue flames smoldering inside. The jaws jutted outward and were filled with a row of sharp teeth, while two massive arms in the shape of scythes were attached on either side of the skull.

Focusing their gazes on it, the monster's name appeared along with a yellow cursor: «The Skullreaper» — the skeletal hunter-killer.

As the shocked players watched the skeletal centipede crawl along the ceiling on its numerous legs, it suddenly spread its legs wide — and then dove straight into them.

"Don't just stand there! Scatter!"

Heathcliff's sharp voice cut through the frozen air. The players finally came to their senses and began to move. They hurried to get away from the estimated landing area as well.

But the three people who were positioned directly under the skeletal centipede's dive were a little slow. They simply stood there and looked up as if unsure of which direction to move in.

"This way!"

Keshiga shouted in a hurry. The three players then became unfrozen and started running towards him—

But in that moment, the centipede landed behind them and the whole floor shook violently. The three lost their balance as a result, just as the centipede swung its right arm —which was shaped like a huge bone scythe that was as long as a person— and cleaved directly into them.

The three players were sliced once in their backs and sent flying simultaneously. Their HP decreased quickly as they flew through the air— straight past the yellow area and into the red danger area—

"—!?"

Then they all reached zero, and the three bodies that were still in the air shattered into countless shards and scattered. The sound effects of death overlapped one another.

"—!"

Keshiga gasped as Norie held her breath in. Sachi quickly squealed and diverted her eyes.

_They died— in one hit—?!_

In the SAO system, which used both levels and skills, one's maximum HP rose with level, so a higher level meant it was harder to kill regardless of one's fighting skills. The party here today was composed of only high-level players, so even if it was a boss, everyone should still be able to withstand at least a short combo attack— that's what everyone had thought. Yet in just one hit—

"This... is impossible..."

Asuna muttered in a forced voice.

The skeletal centipede that had taken the lives of three people in an instant raised its upper body and charged at another group of players with a thunderous roar.

"Ahhhh—!"

The players in that direction screamed in panic. The bone scythe was raised high up into the air once again.

In this critical moment, a figure jumped in right beneath the scythe. It was Heathcliff. He raised his large shield and blocked the attack, sending out an ear-rending sound of impact and a shower of sparks.

But there were two scythes. While its left arm continued to attack Heathcliff, it raised its right scythe and swung down at the frozen players.

"Dammit...!"

Kirito ran in almost subconsciously, quickly covering the distance as if he was flying, and flung himself directly in front of the scythe. Then he crossed his swords and blocked its attack.

The tremulous force of impact struck his body. But— the scythe didn't stop. As sparks flew from it, the scythe pushed back the swords and came towards him.

_It's too powerful—!_

At this moment, a new sword flew in with a trail of white light and struck the scythe. A clashing noise resounded. As the scythe weakened during this moment, Kirito immediately pushed with all his might and managed to force the bone scythe back.

Next to him, Asuna glanced his way and said,

"If we both hit it at the same time— we can block its attacks! If it's us, then it's possible!"

**ooo**

As Kirito and Asuna took the defensive alongside Heathcliff and Norie, the players shouted, raised their weapons, and charged at the body of the skeletal centipede. A number of hits cut deeply into the enemy's body and the boss' HP finally decreased a bit.

But immediately, Sachi heard the muffled screaming of several players, and she risked a glance from fighting and saw a few people getting knocked down by the long spear like bone at the end of the centipede's tail.

Kirito gritted his teeth as he noticed this also, they should help them though, but Asuna and he, along with Heathcliff and Norie always had their hands full.

"Kirito-kun…!" At Asuna's voice, Kirito turned his gaze to her.

"We have to go help them!" Kirito called out

"No! If we get distracted, we'll be hit!" Asuna replied.

After they blocked another attack, they heard the screams coming around again. Kirito couldn't take it anymore, someone had to help them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sachi and Keshiga managing a battle of their own, so asking them was out of the question. He glanced around, for anyone that might be able to help.

"I'll go" Norie volunteered as she hastily gripped Kirito's shoulder. She understood their concerns. Within the few seconds that they had to spare, Kirito and Asuna nodded. Wishing them a silent remark of good luck, Norie rushed off to the side in the direction of the screams.

The tail was the cause of the outburst of screams. Because of its extremely erratic striking pattern, it made it difficult for most of the players to defend against the lashing spear like tail. The only possible people in the party who were able to defend against such attacks would be Norie, Heathcliff, and a select few others. Unfortunately, Norie was the only one who was available at the moment, but there was only so much she could do.

After repelling the stinging tail thrice while buying time for a downed clearer to fall back, Norie couldn't help but wince every time she heard that ear shattering pierce of a player's avatar bursting. She had already heard it about six times, including the initial three at the beginning of the battle.

Deflecting the tail once more before being pushed back, Norie prepared herself to block it once more. Little did she know that the «The Skullreaper» was s lowly creeping upon her. The 75th Floor boss had actually arced its body into a circle like shape, in which the tail was close to the head.

"Wh-what the hells going on?!" A player asked before he was instantly silenced by the giant scythe of the monster. His avatar exploded right next to Norie as she stared in a painful daze.

"What the….?!" Norie asked desperately as she heard Ellen call out from her hilt:

"Norie! Watch your back?"

"My back?!" She asked in reply as she deflected the tail once more and turned around instantly. The grim scythe of «The Skullreaper» slammed down onto her. "Gahhh…?!" Norie body felt such a wave of force as she held her own against the claw. Her sword and the sharp weapon of the boss sent sparks flying everywhere. She couldn't react in time to power up a parry, or even a guard by that matter. Norie was now only relying upon her sheer will and STR to try to fend off the boss by herself.

"Rrrnggg!" Her arms were trembling. It was too strong, even for her, and bit by bit, the scythe began inching its way closer to her, almost digging into her shoulder. In the midst of this immense struggle, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the slight figure of the other claw of «The Skullreaper» being raised up, and within the blink of an eye, it slashed downward. It was sure to strike Norie, and for two hits guaranteed. Her senses became numb as she realized her fate within the fraction of a second that passed, or so she thought.

"Norie!" The voice of her ever so familiar companion rang in Norie's ears. Ellen's small body suddenly appeared in the trajectory of the scythe, with her arms and legs out stretched in an attempt to defend her treasured companion.

"_Ellen..!?"_ Norie thought desperately as she could do nothing but watch what unfolded behind her. With a loud viscal piercing sound, the scythe of the «Skullreaper» sliced right through Ellen, causing her to fly past Norie, hitting the floor, rolling to a halt. "Ellen!" Norie, her heart stopped as she screeched out as loud as her lungs could before she suddenly had garnered the strength to overcome the force of the scythe she was struggling against.

She managed to push back and deflect the scythe, but the worst possible thing could have happened, her sword broke in half due to the massive strain that had been placed upon it, and, in theory, because of Ellen's damage intake. Widening her eyes for once in the rare times that her iris was visible, she gasped in horror. Because of this, she couldn't do anything against the other scythe as it gashed right through her chest, leaving a dark red line across it. Norie's body numbed through the immense tremor she had just felt, and she was knocked through the air, gripping her chest with both her hands rolling on the ground.

Normally, a player struck by the «Skullreaper» would simply watch in terror as their HP hit 0, but Norie didn't give two "shits" about her HP, because at this moment, she had more important concerns to attend to.

"Ellen…. ELLEN!" Norie called out as she quickly ran over to the limp body of Ellen throwing aside the broken sword that was formerly Ellen. Breathing rapidly and kneeling down, "Ellen….Ellen! Speak to me.. please!" she begged.

Ellen slowly opened her eyes. The red gash along her body was emitting light bits of data. "Norie…." She muttered weakly.

"I'm here Ellen, I'm here, you're going to be okay…" Norie said desperately as she held Ellen's head up with her right arm and caressed Ellen's cheek lightly in comfort.

"Norie… my chest feels cold…and I can't feel my body…is this what death feels like? Because if it is…I'm scared…." Ellen said in an innocently scared tone.

Upon hearing those words, Norie began to cry. "I-I wouldn't know Ellen. I've asked for death so many times… but…but…. I've never gotten it!" she wailed out as her tears continued to flow over Ellen. Hugging her tightly, she began to say some more, "But you shouldn't be scared Ellen. Death is a nice person. Death won't hurt you…."

"Please Norie!" Ellen begged as she began crying as well, "Please! I don't want to leave you! I don't to be alone! I'll do anything! Anything! I won't ask you to buy me anymore treats, I'll stop scaring you and the others" She tried to reason strenuously, and it broke Norie's heart even more to hear her say these things that she is willing to give up just to stay with Norie.

"Ellen….Ellen… listen to me…You don't need to say things like that…" Norie said trying not to choke on her own tears, "I'll never leave you. You'll never be alone. Me, Sachi, Keshiga, and all the rest, we'll always be with you, no matter what."

Norie wiped Ellen's tears for her, as she did this, Ellen's eyes began to lower. "Norie…I'm glad" she sighed smiling lightly.

Norie tried to smile, but she couldn't, she just couldn't. Kneeling there, with her tears dripping all over massive red gash, Ellen began to slowly disappear.

"Hey…? What's with the long face Norie?" Ellen whispered lowly as she managed to raise both her hands to use her index fingers to turn that frown upside down. "Aren't you always the cheerful one?" she asked wiping Norie's tears. Chuckling lightly with a smile on her face, more and more of Ellen began to disperse into bits of data. "Norie…I've got to go now…please…remember me…." The Spirit Weapon Ellen spoke her last words as she completely disappeared into small bits of data and faintly glowing lights, leaving a small stone behind in Norie's palm.

Norie felt her world spin and swirl into oblivion as she gripped the stone tightly, crying uncontrollably. Trying to keep her eyes dry, she examined her HP bar to see if she was still living, she hoped not. She was sure that the blow from the boss should have killed her, but to her half relief and half regret, she had, just a little stick of HP left: 17/20000 HP

Norie realized suddenly that she was still alive, still alive because of the pin that Ellen gave her. It boosted her HP just enough for her to survive the blow. With this knowledge, Norie began to cry even harder, she fell to the ground, sobbing and wailing. She didn't care anymore, she didn't care if they were in the middle of a boss battle, and she just laid there with her hands cupped into her face in pitiful anguish.

While scanning the battlefield for familiar faces, Sachi suddenly saw Norie lying on the ground. "Oh no!" she said racing off towards Norie to support her.

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out as he ran after her.

"Norie! Norie!" Sachi cried out worriedly as she knelt down to try to help Norie up, but she wouldn't budge. "Norie?! What's wrong?! What happened?!" she asked desperately trying to analyze the situation.

"Ell-Ellen, sh-she's gone…." Norie muttered lowly crying even harder than she did now.

"Ellen?!" Sachi gaped as she desperately scanned around. She recognized the now broken Norie's sword, it was definitely Norie's, but something was drastically different; it wasn't glowing. Sachi's eyes widened as she glared at Keshiga, who had the same expression as she did.

"Norie….c'mon! Get up!" Sachi asked still trying to pull Norie up as she pulled out her best quality HP potion. "It'll be okay!"

"There's no point…It won't be okay…" Norie said shaking Sachi away and getting up weakly as she walked slowly over and picked up her broken sword. "There's no meaning in life anymore. She's gone. Ellen's gone. She was everything to me, and now… I have nothing…" she said emotionlessly as she raised the broken sword up and pointed it towards her.

"Norie no!" Keshiga rushed instantly grabbing the hilt and fought Norie over it.

"Let go Keshiga! I said let go!" Norie demanded as they fought.

"What are you doing?!" Keshiga asked as he managed to wrestle the broken sword from Norie.

"I could ask you the same thing!" She yelled out harshly breaking down into tears again as she dropped to her knees. "Why won't fate let me die? First, I couldn't kill myself, next Ellen didn't let me die, now you?! Haven't I suffered enough?" she asked desperately as her purple eyes stared back at Keshiga. This was the first time that Sachi and Keshiga have ever seen Norie's eyes in person. It was true, they were a beautiful shade of violet. "Why….why?! I don't deserve this!" Survivor's guilt had struck Norie.

Upon hearing those words, Sachi had to release the anger building up in her system. "Shut up! Shut up Norie!" she yelled stepping forward slapping Norie squarely in the face. Sachi was on the verge of crying as she began to speak, "Weren't you always the one to tell us to keep our heads up high?! Weren't you the one who revived a scared and timid girl, who stands here before, a completely changed person?! Weren't you the one who said, getting over things like this is what will make us stronger?!" Sachi quoted the words Norie spoke to her, all the way back when they first met. "You were the one who gave us hope, who cheered us up when we were sad. And to watch you…now… going against all what you believe… I can't stand it!"

"Sachi…" Norie replied before Sachi opened up her inventory.

"Now, are you going to sit here and mope around until you die like a piece of trash? Or are you going to get up and fight?" Sachi asked harshly and mercilessly as she threw an extra sword and the HP potion she got from earlier on the ground in front of Norie. "If you don't mind, I've got a floor to clear" she scoffed in disgust turning around and heading back towards the fighting.

"Sachi!" Keshiga called out before catching up to her. "Sorry Norie" he said handing Norie the fragment of her sword, "Please don't do it…" he begged before departing.

Norie said nothing as she knelt there, on the ground. "Against all what I…believe…?" she asked herself as she stared at the stone in her hand. It was the same stone that Ellen was trapped in before they met. It was a cream blonde color stone, symbolic of the color of the bonnet like hat Ellen wore. "What do I believe?" she asked herself as she gripped the stone close to her heart and lowered her head. "Ellen…" she whispered.

**ooo**

"Sachi! Sachi!" Keshiga called out catching up to her, resting his spear on his shoulder. "Don't you think you were a bit harsh on her?"

Sachi shook her head, "Not at all" she said. "I think that's just what she needs to come back to her senses." She added before dashing off, towards «The Skullreaper». She slashed and slashed, out of not only anger and resentment, but sorrow. Sachi felt the pain that Norie felt also, of losing Ellen, but she kept it pent up inside her. Releasing all of it onto the boss, she was so submerged in her whirlpool of conflicting emotions that she didn't hear the spear tail of the boss strike near her. She snapped back to her senses when she heard the screaming of a player being killed to her right. Glaring in blank surprise, she heard Keshiga call out desperately,

"Sachi!" he screamed trying to run as fast as possible to protect her.

It happened so fast, but as soon as the tail impaled through the unfortunate player, it instantly retracted and spearheaded right towards Sachi at an unbelievable speed that she had no chance of reacting to at this point.

Sachi closed her eyes and braced for the worst. "Clank!" she heard. She felt nothing except the howling wind. Opening her eyes she saw Norie, deflecting the tail of «The Skullreaper», with the pristine and crisp sword movements that Norie had always conducted. Managing to fend it off, Norie sighed, and turned towards Sachi with a grin.

"That was close. Sorry it took so long. The potion took a while to heal my HP" she said.

"Norie!" Keshiga said with relief as he caught up with the two.

"Norie…I'm…I'm…" Sachi said with a sense of guilt in her voice for speaking so harshly to Norie only minutes before.

Gripping Sachi's shoulder lightly with her free hand, "No time for chit chatter, we've got a boss to beat!"

**ooo**

The fighting continued for over an hour.

It felt like an eternity had passed before the battle finally finished. When the boss monster's huge body shattered into countless shards, no one had even the energy to cheer. Everyone either collapsed into a sitting position on the obsidian ground or laid down completely with their breathing ragged.

Sachi dropped to her knees breathing shallowly as she paced her breathing by placing a hand on her chest.

Keshiga was right behind her, both of them sitting back to back. They were so tired that they think they weren't able to do anything else except sleep.

Norie was sitting with the bottom of her feet touching each other. Glaring at the two, _We're all alive…_ she thought bittersweetly as Ellen's smiling face flashed in her mind. She smiled lightly, _Ellen's still alive too…_Ellen was indeed alive, in the memories of everyone that loved her.

Then again, Norie's rather bittersweetly happy expression was suppressed as Kirito asked how many people had died from nearby.

"- Fourteen dead"

A wave of chills went down Sachi's spine. Keshiga quilled with grimness as he felt them also.

"Impossible…" Norie muttered without any hint of positive emotion. They were only three-fourths of the way there— There were still twenty-five floors left to clear. Even though there were thousands of players here, only a few hundred were still serious about clearing the game. If every floor generated as many fatalities as this one, then it was highly possible — that only one person would face the final boss.

If that were to happen, then the last one standing would be him, Heathcliff.

Norie shifted her gaze further back into the room. Amongst everybody who sat on the floor, a single red-clothed figure continued to stand straight. That person was Heathcliff.

Of course, he wasn't unscathed. As Norie focused on him, the cursor appeared to show his HP, and she could tell that he had taken quite a bit of damage. He had blocked the bone scythe, which Asuna and Kirito had barely managed to keep at bay, by himself until the end. It wouldn't be strange if he collapsed from exhaustion alone regardless of his HP.

Kirito noticed this also as he glared at Norie. He wondered also, but he couldn't feel even the slightest hint of tiredness from Heathcliff's calm figure. It was a toughness that was hard to believe. It was as if— he was a fighting machine...

Because his mind was hazy due to the fatigue, Kirito continued to stare at the side of Heathcliff's face. The legend's expression was composed. He was silently looking down at the sitting KoB members and the other players. His eyes were warm and full of mercy— as if—

_As if he was looking at a bunch of white mice playing in an inescapable cage._

Just then, a shudder racked through the boy's body.

The expression within Heathcliff's eyes, the calmness it showed, it wasn't a look that consoled his wounded comrades. He wasn't standing on the same level as everyone else. His expression was offering mercy from some faraway place high above them— It was the expression of a god...

Kirito thought of the inhuman reaction speed that Heathcliff had shown during their duel and remembered a faint trace of it with Sachi's duel with him. It had far surpassed the speed of a human being. No, he said that wrongly; it had far surpassed the limits that SAO had set on the players.

Add his usual behavior on top of that: he was the leader of the strongest guild, yet he never gave any orders and simply watched the other players take care of things. Maybe that wasn't because he trusted his men— Maybe he was holding himself back because he knew of things that normal players didn't!

He was a being that wasn't bound by the rules of this game of death. Yet he wasn't an NPC. There was no way that a program could be able to make such a merciful expression.

If he was neither an NPC nor a normal player, then there was only one possibility left. But how on earth can Kirito confirm this? There was just no way to... Not even one.

No, there is. It was a way that he could try only right here and right now.

The Black Swordsman Kirito looked at Heathcliff's HP bar. It had been greatly reduced from the hard fight. But it hadn't dropped to 50%. It was barely, just barely in the blue zone.

No one had ever seen this person's HP go into the yellow zone. He had an overwhelming defense that nobody could even compare with.

During his duel with Kirito, his expression had changed the moment his HP had neared the halfway point. It shouldn't be a fear of his HP turning yellow.

It was— most probably—

Kirito slowly fixed my grip on the sword in his right hand. Pulling his right foot back with the tiniest movements. He bent my hips back slightly and got into a low dash position. Heathcliff didn't notice any of the movements. His warm gaze was currently directed only towards his tired guild members.

If Kirito's guess is wrong, then he would be branded a criminal and be punished without mercy.

If that happens...he's truly sorry...

Glancing at Asuna, who sat next to him, she raised her head at the same time and their eyes met.

"Kirito-kun...?"

A surprised expression overcame Asuna, whose mouth moved yet gave off no voice. But at that moment, his right foot had already kicked off against the ground.

Sachi was watching this whole event closely examining and wondering what Kirito was up to. "What are you-?" she asked herself watching him kick off against the ground.

There were ten meters between him and Heathcliff. Kirito sped towards him at full speed with his body almost touching the ground and reached him in an instant. Then he tilted his sword and stabbed upwards. It was the basic one-handed sword skill «Rage Spike». Since it was a weak skill, it shouldn't kill Heathcliff even if it made a critical hit. But if his guess was right—

The blade rushed in from the left, leaving a trail of bright blue light. Heathcliff reacted with surprising speed, and an expression of shock appeared on his face. He immediately lifted his shield in an attempt to guard.

But Kirito had already seen him perform that motion many times during the duel and remembered it clearly. His sword dissolved into a streak of light, changed its course in midair, and scraped along the edge of his shield before continuing to pierce towards his chest.

But just before the sword struck him, it was stopped by an invisible wall. A powerful shock coursed through Kirito's arm. A spark of purple light flashed and a message of the same colour appeared— a system message between the two.

[Immortal Object]. It wasn't a status that weak beings like the players could have. What Heathcliff had feared during the duel must be the revelation of this godlike safeguard to everyone.

"Kirito-kun, what are you—?"

Asuna, who had shouted in surprise at his sudden attack and ran after him, suddenly stopped and froze in place after seeing the message. Kirito, Heathcliff, Klein, and all the other players around them were completely motionless as well. The system message faded slowly in the midst of this stillness.

"That….that was…." Sachi slowly got up despite her fatigue with a gaping mouth and wide eyes, "I…I was right…!"

"Are my eyes playing tricks on me?" Keshiga asked rhetorically to express his surprise.

"Well I'll be damned…" Norie muttered still replaying that image over and over again in her head.

Kirito lowered his sword and jumped back lightly, widening the distance between Heathcliff and himself. Asuna took a couple of steps forward and stood next to him.

"Immortality granted by the system... How's this possible... guild master...?"

Heathcliff didn't respond even after hearing Asuna's confused voice. He simply glared at Kirito with a severe expression. With both of his swords in hands, he opened my mouth and spoke:

"This is the truth behind the legend. His HP was protected by the system and wouldn't fall into the yellow zone no matter what happened to him. The status of immortality... other than NPCs, only system administrators could have it. But this game didn't have any administrators, except for maybe one person..."

He stopped talking at this point and glanced upwards into the skies.

"...I had always wondered after my arrival in this world... Just where he was watching us from as he manipulated this world. But I forgot one simple truth, one that even a little kid should know."

Kirito looked straight at the red paladin and continued:

"«There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play a game». Isn't that right?... Kayaba Akihiko?"

There was a stunned silence, as if everyone had just frozen over.

Heathcliff was glaring at Kirito with an emotionless expression. The players around us didn't move even a muscle. No, it was more accurate to say that they couldn't move.

Asuna took a step forward from beside Kirito. Her eyes didn't contain a trace of emotion, as if they were bottomless voids. She opened her mouth slightly and spoke in a dry and barely audible voice.

"Leader... Is this... true...?"

Heathcliff ignored her question. Instead, he tilted his head slightly and asked Kirito:

"...Just for reference, could you tell me how you figured it out?"

"...The first time I thought that something was off was during our duel, because your speed during that final moment was simply too fast."

"As I expected. That was a grievous mistake on my part. I was so overwhelmed by your speed that I ended up using the system's assistance past its normal limits."

As Heathcliff nodded, his face finally revealed another expression; his lips moved slightly to form a bitter smile.

"I originally expected to reach the 95th floor before this would be revealed."

His smile turned into one of authority as he slowly swept his gaze across the players. Then, the red paladin stated confidently:

"—Yes. I am Kayaba Akihiko. I am also the final boss of the game who awaits you all on the top floor."

Kirito felt Asuna sway slightly beside him. He extended his right hand to support her without turning his gaze.

"...You've got some strange tastes. To think that the strongest player would suddenly become the most malignant final boss."

"Don't you think that this is an interesting scenario? I had originally thought that this revelation would incite a wave of shock throughout Aincrad, but I had never thought that I would be found out only three-quarters of the way through the game. I knew that you were this game's most unpredictable factor, but I never imagined that you would have such potential."

"Kayaba…Akihito…?" Sachi muttered lowly as her eyes widened even further. Her pupils were tiny as she slowly walked closer to the three. "Kayaba…. Why…? Why would you…?" she asked emotionlessly as she dropped to her knees, on the verge of crying at the mere thought of what happened to her friends.

"Kayaba…." Keshiga said as he suddenly felt sick in the stomach. His hero, the one whom he looked up towards, to someday become as strong as, was the one that had put him in this world. And his heart was just torn out when he learned this terrible truth.

As the creator of this game who imprisoned the minds of ten thousand players, Kayaba Akihiko smiled in a way that Kirito could still remember and shrugged. Kayaba's expressions were totally different from those of Heathcliff the Paladin. But that impenetrable, steely presence was somehow similar to that of the expressionless avatar which had descended upon us two years ago.

Kayaba continued with a bitter smile while ignoring Sachi:

"...I had expected that you would be the player who would stand against me in the end. Out of the ten unique skills, «Dual Blades» is given to the player with the fastest reaction speed, who would then act out the hero's role against the final boss, regardless of whether he wins or loses. But you have shown me strength beyond my expectations, be it your speed or your insight. Well... I suppose that such unpredictable developments are part of the essence of online RPGs..."

At this moment, one of players who was frozen stood up slowly. He was one of the KoB leaders. His seemingly brusque eyes were filled with a tormented agony.

"You... You... How dare you take our loyalty — our hopes... and... and... completely defile them—!"

He raised his huge halberd into the air and launched himself with a scream. There wasn't even any time to try to stop him. They could only watch as he swung his weapon down at Kayaba—

But Kayaba was a step faster. He waved his left hand and quickly manipulated the window that appeared; the man immediately stopped in midair and then fell to the ground with a loud noise. A green outline flashed around his HP bar, indicating paralysis. However, Kayaba didn't stop there and continued to move his hand.

"Ah...Kirito-kun...!"

Kirito turned around and saw Asuna kneeling on the ground. It wasn't just her either, as all the players except Kayaba and he were on the ground, groaning from awkward positions.

"I-I can't move!" Keshiga called out trying to move his arms out as he laid on his stomach.

"Wh-what's going on here?" Norie called out as she tried her best to keep a clear view of the unfolding events.

"Kayaba!" Sachi called out from nearby as she laid on the ground trying to extend her right arm outward, just like when before she "died" a year and a half ago.

After sheathing his blades, Kirito knelt down to prop up Asuna's upper body with his arm and held her hand. Then he looked at Sachi and back at Kayaba.

"...What are you going to do? Are you going to kill us all to hide the truth...?"

"Of course not. I would never do something so unreasonable."

The man in red smiled and shook his head.

"But since the situation has gotten to this point, I have no other choice. I will move my schedule forward and await for your arrival in the «Scarlet Jade Castle» on the top floor. It's a shame that I must desert the KoB, as well as the other front-line players, that I had carefully cultivated to fight against the powerful mobs on the 90th floor and above. But I believe that all of you should have enough strength to reach the top level. But... before that..."

Kayaba suddenly stopped talking and turned his eyes, which were full of overwhelming will-power, to focus on me. He then drove his sword softly into the obsidian floor, and a sharp yet clear metallic ring resounded across the air.

"Kirito, since you figured out my true identity, I will reward you with an opportunity: you can have a one-on-one duel with me, right here and right now. Of course, I will negate my immortality status. If you win, the game will be cleared immediately, and all the players will be able to log out. What do you say...?"

As soon as she heard this, Asuna began to squirm in his arms, trying desperately to move her paralyzed body as she shook her head.

"No, Kirito-kun...! He's trying to get rid of you first... Right now... Right now you have to back down...!"

His instincts told him that was the best course of action. This guy was an administrator who could intervene with the system. Even if he claimed that it would be a fair fight, there was no way to know whether or not he was somehow manipulating the system. The best choice would be to retreat now and come up with a countermeasure with the others.

But...

What did that guy say? That he raised the KoB? That we would surely be able to reach...?

"What a load of crap..."

Kirito unconsciously muttered in a dry voice.

This guy confined the minds of ten thousand people in a world he had created, where he had already killed four thousand with electromagnetic waves, including the first real guild that Kirito and partaken in, and almost one of his closest friends. With that thought in mind, Kirito glared at Sachi's worried face. He had been watching the players struggle foolishly and pitifully according to the script he had written. This must be the most enjoyable experience available to a game master.

"Fine. Let's settle this."

Kirito nodded slowly.

"Kirito-kun...!"

At Asuna's stricken cry, he dropped his gaze to the figure in his arms. Pain pierced his heart as if his chest had been stabbed through, but somehow he managed to force a smile.

"Sorry. But I can't... run away right now..."

Asuna opened her mouth to say something, but then gave up halfway and tried her best to smile. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

"You weren't planning... on sacrificing yourself...?"

"Of course... I'll definitely win. I'll win and put an end to this world."

"Okay. I'll trust you."

_Even if I lose and die, you must live on—_ although he wanted to say that, but he still couldn't force it out. Kirito could only hold Asuna's right hand firmly in its stead.

After he released her hand, he laid Asuna's body down on the obsidian floor and then stood back up. Kirito slowly approached Kayaba, who was silently looking upon the players, and drew both his swords with a sharp sound.

"Kirito! Stop—!"

"Kirito—!"

"Try to be reasonable Kirito!"

"Don't Kirito!"

When he turned his head towards the source of those voices, he saw Klein, Agil, Norie and Keshiga shouting and trying desperately to lift themselves up. He focused his sight upon Agil first and nodded slightly towards him.

"Agil, thanks for supporting the warrior class players up till now. I know that you spent most of the money you had earned to help the players on the middle floors."

Kirito smiled at the huge guy whose eyes were wide open before shifting his gaze again.

The katana warrior, with a simple bandana and fully-bearded cheeks, fumed on the floor as if he was still trying to find the words to say.

He gazed straight into those deep eyes of his and took a deep breath. This time, no matter how hard Kirito tried, he couldn't control his faltering voice.

"Klein. That time... I'm really sorry... about leaving you. I've always regretted it."

As soon as he finished this short line in his hoarse voice, something twinkled at the corners of his old friend's eyes, and tears soon began to roll down one after another.

With tears still coming out of his eyes, Klein struggled to stand up while shouting loudly with a coarse voice that was about to break:

"You... You bastard! Kirito! Don't apologize! Don't apologize now! I won't forgive you! Until you invite me to a meal in the real world, I definitely won't forgive you!"

Kirito nodded at Klein, who wanted to continue shouting.

"Yeah, I promise. Next time, I'll see you on the other side."

He raised my right hand and gave him a thumbs up.

Fixing his eyes on the girl with the iconic goggle cap who was always by his side at the boss battles, Kirito smiled and said, "Norie… haha, I can't thank you enough for saving my butt back on those floor battles. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be standing here today."

"D-don't talk like that Kirito!" Norie called out trying to fight back the tears.

"I'm sorry" Kirito said then turning to Keshiga, "Keshiga… you and the Black Cats…. It was fun knowing you guys. And tell Hana… I still owe her a duel"

"Oi! Wait…! Kirito!" Keshiga tried desperately to call back.

Ignoring Keshiga, Kirito turned his gaze back to the girl who had allowed him to say the words that had been buried deeply within his heart for two years.

He looked upon the smiling Asuna whose face was covered by tears—

Kirito muttered an apology to her inside his mind and turned back around. Facing Kayaba, who still had an expression of absolute superiority, he opened his mouth:

"...Sorry about this, but I have one thing to ask."

"What is it?"

"I don't have any intention of losing, but if I die — can you prevent Asuna from committing suicide, even if only for a short period?"

Kayaba raised an eyebrow in surprise, but calmly nodded to his request.

"Okay. I'll set it so that she won't be able to leave Salemburg."

"Kirito-kun, no! You can't, you can't do this—!"

Asuna screamed tearfully from behind him. But he didn't look back. Kirito shifted his right foot backwards, brought his left sword forward while lowering his right sword, and entered his stance.

Kayaba manipulated the window with his left hand and readjusted their HP bars to the same level. It was just before the red zone, where a single, strong hit would decide the fight.

After that, the system message [changed into mortal object] appeared above his head. Kayaba then closed the windows, pulled out the sword he had dug into the ground, and raised it behind his cross-shaped shield.

His mind was completely calm and clear. Thoughts like _Sorry, Asuna_ bubbled away and scattered as he sharpened the fighting instinct within me into a razor's edge.

Frankly, he had no clue what my chances of winning were. If they were only talking about sword skills, then he wasn't any better than Kirito based on the last duel. But that's only if he doesn't use his 'overassist', during which only he would be able to move while Kirito would be completely frozen in place.

It all depended on Kayaba's pride. Based on what he said, he was planning to defeat Kirito with only the strength of «Holy Sword». If that was the case, Kirito's only chance of surviving this was to defeat him before he used any special abilities.

The space between me and Heathcliff tensed. It felt as if the air itself trembled under the pressure of the murderous intent pouring out of us. This was no longer a duel; it was a fight to the death. _That's right— I'm going to—_

"Kirito!" A voice screeched out loudly and echoed with a bone chilling noise. It was Sachi, who was lying there, staring at Kirito, with such a face that it broke Kirito's heart, even more so than Asuna's. Her blue eyes, were red and puffy, flooded with tears. "Kirito….we promised!" She said sobbing even harder. Kirito stared at Sachi for a moment, reflecting upon everything that had happened concerning her within the past year and a half. She was his greatest source of hope in this death game. Smiling lightly at Sachi, and walking slowly over to her, he knelt down and laid his sword lightly.

"Sachi… You've always given me hope, and you freed me from my guilt driven ways. You built me the bridge to me seeing my reason to live. You lifted my agony and self-hatred, and I want to return the favor. Even if I can't bring back Keita and the rest, at least you get to live on" Kirito explained as he kissed Sachi gently on the head, but this time, he felt nothing weird about it. Smiling gently at her again, he picked up his sword and walked back.

"Kirito…Kirito! KIRITO!" Sachi wailed out as loudly as it could, and no matter how much it broke Kirito's heart each time she called out his name, he knew that he had to do this. "We promised…we promised…" Sachi moaned weakly keeping her eyes on Kirito.

"I know.." Kirito said in his head as he returned to his fighting position, facing Heathcliff. "Sorry about that…" he said.

"Not a problem"

Again the space between him and Heathcliff tensed. _Now where was I?_ Kirito thought to himself focusing his gaze upon Heathcliff, _Oh right…__ I'm going to—_

"Kill you...!"

Kirito shot forward with a sharp shout.

He swung his right sword horizontally as the distance closed. Kayaba blocked this easily with his shield. There was a spray of sparks and their faces were lit for a second.

Everyone watched the spectacle of Kirito and Heathcliff's second duel. It was the strangest, yet most human fight Kirito had taken up until now. The man created the skill «Dual Blades», so Kayaba saw easily through any skill combinations.

Kirito couldn't rely upon the combos offered by the system, he had to depend upon his own instincts to swing his swords. He concentrated on Heathcliff's eyes in an attempt to read even a bit of the enemy's thoughts and reactions. But Kayaba's bronze eyes were cold and desolate. There was no trace of human emotion.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Kirito screamed to eliminate the small fragment of fear that had appeared in the depths of his mind, and accelerated faster and faster upon the Paladin, but his expression did not change.

Kirito's fear became nervousness. Was it possible that Kayaba only stayed on the defensive because he could actually counterattack whenever he wanted and was confident that he could survive even a direct hit from him?

Changing his attack pattern, Kirito activated «The Eclipse», the highest level Dual Blades skill. But— Kayaba had been waiting for him to use a combo skill designated by the system. His face revealed an expression for the first time since the start of the duel. It was completely opposite to the one he had shown last time— It was the smile of someone certain of his victory.

Kirito realized his mistake as soon as he launched the opening attacks. In these final moments, Kirito had relied on the system instead of himself, but it was already too late. Once the combo finished, he was subject to a short delay.

Kirito watched Kayaba swing his shield at such a blinding speed, deflecting his swords.

_Sorry— Asuna... At least you must— stay alive—_

The twenty-seventh attack struck the middle of the shield, sending out a shower of sparks. Then, with the shrill scream of metal, the sword in Kirito's left hand shattered.

"Well, this is goodbye— Kirito-kun."

Kayaba raised his sword high above him as he stood stunned. A deep red shine glinted off the blade. The blood-red sword was then swung down at him—

At that moment, a strong, vibrant voice rang within his head.

_I— will protect— Kirito-kun!_

The silhouette of a person charged in between Kayaba's red sword and me at an incredible speed. The long, chestnut-brown hair danced in the wind before his eyes.

"Asuna!" He heard someone call out.

_Asuna— How—!?_

She was standing in front of Kirito even though she should be unable to move because of the paralysis. She bravely straightened her chest and opened her arms out wide.

An expression of shock exposed itself on Kayaba's face. But nobody could stop his attack now. Everything moved as if in slow motion as the long sword ripped its way down, through Asuna's shoulder and all the way into her chest before it stopped.

He reached out with both hands towards Asuna as she fell backwards towards him. She collapsed into his arms without a sound.

As her gaze met Kirito's, Asuna gave a weak smile. Her HP bar— was depleted.

Bit by bit, Asuna's body was slowly engulfed by a golden light. The small shards of light began to collapse and scatter.

"This is just a joke, right...? Asuna... this... this is..."

Kirito muttered with a trembling voice. But the uncaring light got brighter and brighter and then—

A single tear rolled down from Asuna's eyes, which sparkled for a single moment before disappearing. Her lips moved slightly, slowly, as if she was trying to force her final voice out of them.

**ooo**

Kayaba pursed his lips and flaunted his arms dramatically. He said something, but his voice didn't register in Kirito's mind.

There was no reason for him to do anything anymore.

Whether it was fighting in this world, returning to the original world, or even continuing to live on, all of them had lost their meaning. He should have killed himself in the past when his inability and lack of strength led to the death of nearly all his guild mates. If he had done that, then he wouldn't have met Asuna, nor would I have made the same mistake again.

Staring blankly at Asuna's rapier, he reached out and grabbed it. He thought he heard somebody call him from behind, no, he knew he heard somebody call to him from behind, but he ignored it. He didn't stop and continued to walk towards Kayaba with his right sword raised. He took a few unsightly steps and stabbed. Kayaba looked pitifully and deflected Kirito's sword easily while piercing his long sword straight into Kirito's chest.

He stared emotionlessly at the shining piece of metal buried deeply within my own body. His mind no longer thought of anything. All that was left was the blank resignation that everything had ended.

From the edge of his vision, Kirito could see his HP bar slowly reducing. He don't know if it was the continuation of his accelerated senses from the battle, but it felt like I could see each dot disappearing. Closing his eyes, he hoped that the image of Asuna's smile would resurface as his mind went blank.

But even though he closed his eyes, the HP bar still didn't disappear. It was flashing red and getting smaller at an unrelenting pace. Kirito felt as if the god called the system, which had tolerated his existence up until now, was waiting for the final moment. Only ten dots left to go, now five dots, now—

Then, he suddenly felt an anger that he had never experienced before.

It was that bastard. It was the one who had killed Asuna. The creator Kayaba was merely a part of it. The one who had ripped apart Asuna's body and extinguished her spirit, it was the presence which surrounded Kirito right now— the will of the system itself, the digital death god which mocked the stupidity of the players and swept its scythe mercilessly—

His HP bar vanished completely as if mocking Kirito's anger. A purple message appeared within his vision: [You are dead]. It was the command from the god to die.

"_You think I would let that happen?!Kirito?! Do you think, that after all the times you protected me from death… I would let you die here, and now?!"_ A voice permeated through the bleary wave of silence, it was Sachi. For some reason, it was always her voice that would cause Kirito to pay attention and listen. Kirito didn't know why, but maybe it was due to the special relationship they had together.

He opened his eyes widely. He could see. He could still see. He could still see the face of Kayaba, whose sword was dug deeply into my chest, and the expression of surprise on him. Glancing quickly at Sachi, and Norie, and Keshiga. That was right… even though the death god had reigned supreme in SAO, there, lying there on the ground, was someone who had transcended the boundaries of the world of death, and lived to tell the tale. It was Sachi.

Perhaps his accelerated senses returned, or maybe it was just the feeling of time around him slowing down. The outline of his body appeared, it was hazy, like that of a ghost, broke off in particles of light but he still existed. Kirito was still alive.

Screaming with all his strength, Kirito screamed and resisted the system, the absolute god. Tightening the grip on his left hand, he jabbed the silver rapier into the center of Kayaba's chest. Kayaba didn't move. His expression of surprise had already disappeared— a soft, peaceful smile had taken its place. His HP bar had also vanished.

For a moment, they simply stood there, with swords that penetrated each other's bodies. Kirito used the last of his strength to force his head up and look at the sky, then looking back down, he turned his head to look at Sachi. She was screaming out words through her tearful face. It reminded him of that time, shortly before Sachi "died", she had said some words that he could not hear. Strangely enough, it was almost the same case this time, but this time, Kirito did understand what she was saying.

_Don't die Kirito…. Don't die!_ Sachi's lips read.

Smiling at her, _I won't!_ He mouthed back. At an instant, he saw her face lighten up with a slight smile before his mind sank into darkness. At the same instant, the emotionless voice of the system announced-

『The game has been cleared — The game has been cleared — The game...』

Both Kirito and Heathcliff's avatars burst simultaneously, and Sachi, who was desperately trying to get up despite her paralysis, was finally able to move as the effect wore off. Rushing upward as fast as possible, Sachi reached and reached, she flailed her arms around in an attempt to try to grab one of the polygons that were left fluttering around in the air. Widening her eyes in success as she thought she grabbed one, she opened up her palm, and saw it phase through her hand. The smile on her face suddenly disappeared as her arms flopped downward, motionlessly. Her face was hung low as a shadow was cast upon her eyes.

Norie rushed up there with her hugging her tightly, "Sachi…Sachi…listen to me carefully….Kirito's going to be okay. Him and Asuna, they'll both be okay. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you…" Sachi replied not too worried. She remembered Kirito mouthing the words to her. _I won't!_

**ooo**

The surviving clearers from the 75th Boss battle cheered despite the horrific revelation that was bestowed upon them.

"Th-the game! It-it's finally…it's finally cleared!" Many players were crying. Some were congratulating everyone on the success, others were saying their farewells, some were eager to get back to the real world.

"I wonder how much it's changed" One player said.

"Never know till we log off" Another said finding the log off button as he pressed it. One by one, the players in the room were logging off, finally getting back to their real lives, after two years stuck in another one.

"Well, the games finally done…." Norie said taking her cap off and patting her hair down.

"I guess it is" Keshiga said not really knowing what to do as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What will you do when you get back Norie?" Sachi asked as she fully knew that there was not much Norie had to go back to.

"Well, I have no family really. No place to stay, no job, no money, but I think I'll be okay." Norie said patting Sachi on the shoulder as she took out the stone that Ellen had left behind earlier. "Besides, Ellen's by my side. I know I'll be okay" She tightened her grip on the stone and held it close to her heart.

Sachi smiled at Norie's positive reaction.

"Hey! Norie!" Klein called out approaching them with Agil by his side. "Good fighting ey?"

"I could say the same to you Klein" Norie replied with a chuckle.

"Ahaha, thanks…" Klein chuckled rather embarrassedly as he suddenly realized, "Hey… where's Ellen? I want to say goodbye to her before I log out"

"Ellen is….gone…." Norie said bittersweetly.

"She's..gone?" Klein asked with a hint of sadness upon hearing this. Norie nodded. "Well, that's a shame. I liked her, that is… to say, I would like a little sister like her someday. Oh well. I hope she's in a good place" he said smiling brightly.

"I'm sure she is" Norie said smiling up at the sky.

"Oh, and one last thing. Before I go…" Klein started to say before he tried to avoid Norie's glare, "Norie…would you like to….would you like too…." He tried to say, "Would you like to get some coffee in the real world someday?" he finally blurted out. He turned his head, slightly blushing as he kept saying to himself, how uncool, how uncool.

Norie laughed, reached forward and kissed Klein lightly on the cheek. "Sure thing old bud" She smiled.

Rubbing his cheek for a moment before bursting out laughing with joy, "Alright! I'll give you a call after I get a meal from that Kirito okay?" he joked as he pressed the log off button. "See you guys around eh? Sachi, Keshiga, Agil. Which reminds me, the first thing I'm going to eat is that pizza I never got" He said as his voice trailed off. His body slowly disappeared, and he was back in the real world.

"I should be logging off as well" Agil's deep voice said as he opened up his menu. "It was pleasure doing business with you guys. Especially you Sachi." He said extending his fist forward at Sachi.

Sachi smiled and held her fist outward pressing it against Agil's without any sign of hesitation or fear. "Thanks Agil."

"Hahaha! Well, if you guys are ever in town and need a place to grab a meal, the Dicey Café is your place" Agil called out heartily as he pressed the log off button. He too disappeared and returned to the real world.

For now, it was just Sachi, Keshiga, Norie, and a few other players that were still saying their goodbyes.

Not knowing what else to say, Norie turned to Sachi and Keshiga. "You know you guys, when I first met you two, I didn't really expect much. Boy would the past me be surprised right now huh? "She joked planting her hands on both of them. "I just wanted to tell you guys how proud I am, to have fought alongside you two. This past year was probably the most memorable for me, and Ellen alike. I hope it was for you guys too. Despite all the pain and suffering that we each went through, we have all those good times to make up for it." Norie said her speech before turning to Keshiga.

"Keshiga, you're such a clumsy boy, a little bit careless, but your hearts in the right place nonetheless. You're so enthusiastic and care about everyone. When I first met you, I thought you were just a little squealer who had it coming for him, but I was wrong. Ignorance can be led in the right way, or the wrong way, but either way, it is bliss. Remember, watch your head okay? Or else you might hit the ceiling." Norie said kissing Keshiga on the cheek out of familiarity.

"Now for you, Sachi" Norie said turning to Sachi. Shaking her head, "I don't know where to start with you. I guess I can say, that you're a whole new person now. You were such a crybaby when I first met you, always trying to convince yourself that you didn't deserve this second chance at life. Now what did you do with it? You became a soloer for a brief time, then you rose to greatness with a «Unique Skill». Then you became the guild leader of a high ranking clearing guild, and here you are, Sachi, the «Fabled Truth Seeker» as the «Aincrad Daily» would nickname you. You started with nothing, lost everything, and then gained everything as a result. And I have to say, it was the greatest honor, shaping, molding, walking with you two, and building you two into what you guys are today. It makes me proud." Norie said as she started to tear up. "Come here!" she said spreading her arms out to give Sachi and Keshiga a big hug.

As the moment passed, they let go, and Norie opened up her menu to the log off screen. "Well guys, I don't know what's on the other side for me, but I'll try to make the best of it"

"Wait Norie! Before you log off…" Sachi said holding Norie's wrist.

"Yea?"

"Thank you…. Thank you so much Norie…" Sachi said so grateful, that she dropped to her knees, crying.

"Like I said. If I can save someone from death, that itself is reason enough for thanks" Norie said, quoting one of the first words she said to Sachi. "Now, I think it's time for me to go. It was good to be with you guys, see you in the real world."

"Wait! One more thing" Sachi and Keshiga said as Sachi got back up wiping her tears.

"What now?" Norie asked jokingly, it was as if they didn't want her to go.

"If you ever need some help in the real world, we're here to help!" Keshiga said smiling brightly along with Sachi as Sachi gripped her arm.

Norie smiled brightly as she started to cry again, "Ahaha, Ahahahah!" She started laughing, "I'll keep that in mind." She said lastly before doing her signature two finger noggin flick to say good bye. Pressing the log off button, Norie disappeared.

All that was left was Sachi and Keshiga, as they stood there, silent in the empty boss room.

"Sachi…" Keshiga said quietly as he turned to face her. "Will we meet in the real world?"

"Of course we will!" Sachi replied with a smile as they both held hands.

Keshiga smiled also as he hummed the song that he played for Sachi a long time ago, the song that he had played during the school festival at his school.

For some reason, that song felt familiar to Sachi as she paused for a moment.

"Is there something wrong?" Keshiga asked noticing her momentary pause.

"No, it's nothing" Sachi said shaking her head as she opened up her menu. "I think we should log off too"

"Yea, we should" Keshiga said opening his menu also. "But one more thing before we go…"

"What would that be…-?"Sachi asked before she was interrupted by Keshiga's lips pressing upon hers. Standing there in his arms, they shared their emotions one last time before they would leave the world of SAO, a world that had such an impact, on both of their lives. Pulling back from their kiss, they embraced each other, unable to log off before the other.

"On the count of three?" Keshiga asked.

"Sure"

"Okay…. One…two…three!"


	24. Epilogue

Epilogue – There After

The wind was howling as Sachi felt the cool breeze escape through her hair. "_What…?" _ She thought to herself as she opened her eyes. "Where…am I?" She looked around. She was standing, at the top of some balcony that overlooked the massive world below her. The orange sun burned the sky with its scarlet orange as it neared sunset, brimming its radiance along the grassy horizon below it. The white clouds, now tinted with the blazing orange, floated soundlessly through the endless sky that surrounded Sachi.

Looking around to the closer surroundings, Sachi noticed that she was standing on a red paved stone floor, it was so lustrous that she even saw her reflection shining about on it. The platform below her was round shaped, and there was a large tower like structure that reached towards the sky.

"What is this place?" She asked herself looking around and turned to glare at the large tower behind her.

"Scarlet Jade Castle" A voice said behind her. Sachi immediately turned around to see the source of the voice. A man, with his back turned to her and his arms behind him also, stood there. His white lab coat rustled with the wind as he turned to face her.

"Kayaba…" Sachi said recognizing his face from the news and papers.

"Yes, it is I. The dreaded creator of this game that all of you despise so much." Kayaba said with his arms outstretched, stepping closer and closer to Sachi before he stood, a little ways in front of her. "This, is the top of Aincrad, the 100th Floor. The floor that you players were supposed to reach. It's amazing… honestly… To see the boundaries of your own created world…be defied…"

He stopped talking for a moment and glared at Sachi. He wore a white shirt with a necktie and white overalls on top. Only the two metallic eyes on his sharp face felt exactly the same. But those two eyes were filled with a gentle light as they looked upon the Truth Seeker. His body was semi-transparent.

Noticing this, Sachi gasped and looked at her own hands. She could see the light figure of Kayaba through her own hands. "Am I…Am I dead?!" she yelped

Kayaba shook his head. "No, I simply rerouted your consciousness as you logged out to here. I wanted to have a word before this world ends. And I'm sure that you have many questions for me. Now is the time to speak them"

Sachi was silent. Mustering up the courage to finally ask, she spoke out her mind, "Kayaba…. Why? Why would you do something like this? Four thousand people….dead…." she cupper her hand over her mouth, trying hard not to cry in this moment.

"Why?" Kayaba repeated to himself, "Like I said to those two up there" he added pointing up to the sky, "I honestly don't remember anymore. I wanted to build a castle, magnificent one, the one I always dreamt of when I was younger. And to see the rules of my world being bent, it simply amazes me as to how the power of love works"

Sachi looked upward to where Kayaba was pointing, and to her relief, she was a black clad boy embracing a girl, with chestnut brown hair dressed in red and black. It was Kirito and Asuna. She smiled out of relief and was about to call out to them, but she decided not to and lowered her hands.

Kayaba continued to speak. "We all have dreams when we are kids, and as time passes, we slowly begin to forget those dreams. But that castle I imagined from when whatever age I was back then, the image of that castle never faded from my mind. As I grew older, it became more and more real, as if I could grasp my hands on it. I still believe, that that castle exists in another world."

Then, Sachi suddenly remembered why she was asking these questions in the first place, why was she in this world? What would a timid, shy, weak girl like her, or used to be her, do in a world like this?

"The truth, Sachiyo Shibaguchi, lies within you." Kayaba said holding his hand out towards her. "The reason why a person like you is here in this world, is to leave that person behind, and come out as a new one." He said closing his hand to make a fist. "Look at yourself Sachiyo, and see the truth behind this world. It is all within."

Sachi thought about his words for a moment. Those memories, her being scared of fighting with a shield and sword, to crying by herself in a sewer. They all felt so real, so close to her heart, but at the same time, the memories of her, fighting alongside the people she cared about, enjoying time together, those were even closer. She opened her eyes, and she saw Keita, and the rest of the members of the Old Black Cats of the Full Moon, standing there, waving, and wishing her the best of luck in the real world.

"I see it…. I see the truth…" She muttered to herself with a smile as she waved back at Keita and the rest, who were standing behind Kayaba.

Kayaba nodded as he turned around, "So you have realized it then…." He said taking a few steps away from her. "Then I have nothing else to say." He added as the ground began shaking.

Sachi looked around desperately, "Wh-what's going on?!"

"Aincrad is destroying itself. It's only a matter of time now before all traces of this castle will be erased forever." Kayaba replied as he looked back at Sachi.

"Wait! What about you?!" Sachi asked before the ground gave in underneath her. She couldn't hear his response as she fell through the air, she only saw his lips move.

_My time in this world is done. I am off to seek the real Aincrad. But I am happy, my final wish was given to me. Goodbye Sachiyo Shibaguchi, live life long, and without regret, my greatest creation._

Kayaba smiled lightly, it made his heart glad that he could see his daughter one last time before he vanished with the wind.

**ooo**

Sachi screamed her lungs out as she fell through the air, along with the remaining pieces of Aincrad. She tried latching onto a chunk of debris, but it no use; her arms just went through it. She fell and fell, and just when she thought she was going to hit the floor, her vision went black, and she no longer felt the wind crashing against her back. Her mind was in a daze for a moment. What brought her back to her senses was the voice of a robot, ever so cold and lifeless.

"_10…" _ The cold metallic voice began to say

"What's going on…?" Sachi wondered to herself.

"9…8…"

"Did…did I die?" She wondered suddenly because of the countdown. "No… I couldn't have… Heathcliff… Kayaba said he just wanted to talk to me… he wouldn't trick me… would he? No… he doesn't seem like that kind of person…" Sachi's mind droned off.

"_7…6…5…_"

Within the seconds that counted down, Sachi had remembered how close she was to death. One second, one measly number, could have determined whether or not she would still be alive or not.

"_4…3…2…"_

"Here goes nothing!" Sachi thought lastly as her body tensed up despite not being able to see anything.

"_1…0…. Nervegear log off….successful"_

**ooo**

The light was blinding for a moment, and blinking softly, she slowly adjusted to her sight. The hospital walls were blank with white as she brought her hands up to stare at them. It hurt to even move, let alone try to push her arms up against gravity. Her hands, they were so thin, so wrinkled from two years of just lying here.

Slowly pulling the helmet that imprisoned her for two years off, she pushed herself up into a sitting position on the bed. She breathed in, and then out. Her throat was burning, and when she tried to speak out, only a rasp and shrill voice was heard, "Ellen…." Norie said. She inhaled through her nose, disinfectant, cloth, fruit, and her own body were the scents that she picked up.

Her purple hair flowed down her back as she pulled the helmet off. It had been a long time. Norie wasn't too used to not tying up her hair into a unicorn tail because that was the way she always kept it.

She glared at her arms again. Such a chillingly pale color, like that of a dead person. Permeating from the bleak paleness of her skin, were the purple veins that flowed with her real, biological blood. Norie squeezed her palms to try to bring some movement back into her jelly like limbs. They tickled, but at the same time, ached every time she moved. Once she had gained some of feeling back into her arms, Norie tried moving her legs. After a great struggle, she managed to pull the sheets completely off her body. She was wearing a teal hospital gown, like most typical patients. Glaring at her bony legs and toes, she wiggled around a bit. First, her toes began to gain some movement, and then, her foot, and eventually, Norie was able to bend her knees.

Holding her legs up to support them, Norie turned so that she was sitting at the edge of her bed. She pulled off all the sensors from her arms and head, but left the little needle that was held with tape to her elbow. The needle was connected to a tube that contained some orange liquid,

"Nutrients" Norie muttered to herself as she used the stand as support to carry herself up. Her knees were wobbling as slowly, she stood up. Taking it step by step, Norie hobbled her way towards the door, dragging the IV with her.

Feeling her knees give out, Norie dropped to the ground. The impact stung her knees as she muttered out, "Ugh, damn it…." Trying to get back up, she heard a muffled voice come from outside.

"Hurry mom! Hurry dad! Or else you'll be late!" The voice said followed by the sudden opening of Norie's hospital door. "Hurry!"

A small girl entered with a smile on her face. That girl, with short bobby pink hair, made Norie stare in complete surprise. The girl stopped there, gasping at Norie. Her mouth was wide open as she smiled widely and ran straight towards her, wrapping her arms around Norie so tightly.

"Norie!" The girl cried out so happily, "Norie! You're awake! You're awake!"

Norie simply sat there, still lost for words as she wrapped her arms around the girl. "E-Ellen…?" Norie asked weakly as her windpipe burned again. What the hell was going on?! Norie asked herself in this moment, did she die? Was what Kayaba said a lie? Did he lie about setting everyone free, and right when they logged off, fry their brains?

"Ellen…." Norie said still shocked, "Am…am I in heaven…?"

Ellen pulled back a bit tilting her head with a smile, "Heaven? What are you talking about silly? This is the hospital, have you been in there so long that you forgot what one looked like?" she joked.

"Then….this isn't…. a dream…?" Norie asked weakly as she placed her skinny hands on Ellen's shoulders.

"I hope it's not big sis!" Ellen replied with another smile, "Because you're awake!"

"This isn't… a dream…." Norie whispered as she wrapped her arms tightly around Ellen in return. She began crying as she thought about how much she wanted to die to be with Ellen in the afterlife. All this time, she thought that her sister was dead. She was so wrought with despair, that she completely forgot that there was a sliver of a chance that Ellen might still be alive. And standing here now, in her arms, was her little sister alive and well.

"Ellen…Ellen!" Norie wailed out of such joy and happiness, such relief and gratitude, gratitude towards the virtual Ellen. She felt so guilty, for taking all her second chances for granted. She felt so bad, for scorning the gift that her companion gave to her before she disappeared into data.

"Ellen…. I'm so….I'm so happy…." Norie muttered trying hard not to choke her sister through her hugging.

"I'm happy too Norie…" Her little sister replied.

After a few moments, Norie thought that the moment would not be interrupted, except for the voice of a familiar person,

"Norie…."

Looking up, Norie gasped at the two people standing at her door. Two familiar faces that she half dreaded and half never expected to see again.

"Mom…..Dad…."

**December 6, 2024 Shibaguchi Residence**

"Sachi! Sachiyo!" A voice called from downstairs.

"I'm coming!" Sachi replied from her computer desk. Getting up slowly, and sliding her feet into her slippers, she walked down the stairs. Her legs were still rather weak since the SAO incident, but that was okay. The doctor told her that her muscles were in good condition when she woke up, so she didn't have to go through as much therapy as some of the other victims, and as a result, they let her out of the hospital within a month. "You needed something Tomiichi-san?" Sachi asked as she leaned against the railing of the stairs in her house as she descended them.

"Haha, I told you already, just call me Dad" Tomiichi replied from the kitchen as he walked out to talk to his daughter in law. Tomiichi Chikamatsu is Sachi's stepfather. He and Eri Shibaguchi, Sachi's mother, got married around June.

He was a rather neat looking middle aged man. He looked rather nerdy. His face was thin and rather weak looking, and his glasses added to his sense of intelligence. He always had a rather neutral look on his face with a slight smile, as if he were always in a good mood. His black hair flowed rather freely over his ears and head, and it looked like he never needed to comb it. It was rather coarse and dull, but looked very soft to touch.

Standing at about five foot six, he was a pretty mid-sized man for his age, not too intimidating, but not too scrunty either.

"Oh, _dad_…" Sachi replied rather sarcastically, but not in a way that would hurt his feelings, "What did you need from me?"

Tomiichi chuckled a bit as he rubbed Sachi's hair, "Ah, can you run down to the store for me? We're running low on milk, and I have a board meeting to attend in a little bit" Her stepfather asked. He worked for a video game distribution company that made deals with RECTO Progress and various other companies.

"Mmmh! Sure" Sachi replied with a nod as she patted her hair down.

"Thanks" He replied giving a thumbs up as he grabbed his coat and keys, and opened the front door, "The moneys on the counter in the kitchen, you can go whenever"

"Okay then, bye Tomiichi-san!" Sachi called out as she stepped down from the last stair.

"I told you to call me dad" He replied with a smile as he closed the door.

"Yea, yea…" Sachi droned off as she trotted to the kitchen. Sachi still wasn't used to the fact of having a stepfather. Not saying that she hated Tomiichi, she actually really liked him, but she still wasn't ready with the idea of calling him "dad" yet. Opening the fridge, she checked the milk compartment, yup, there wasn't any more milk. She sighed, oh well, Sachi figured that the exercise was good for her after the two years of lying in a bed.

Going to counter, she opened the note that Tomiichi had left for her along with some money to buy the milk.

_Here's the money for the milk._

_P.S. There's a little extra for you, go ahead and buy anything with it._

_- Tomiichi_

At the bottom of the paper below the message was a little drawing of Tomiichi's face in a chibi style drawing. He was winking with a thumbs up.

Sachi couldn't help but laugh as she folded the money neatly and stuffed it into her pocket. "_That Tomiichi, trying to win his love with some money is he?"_ She joked seeing a subtle motive in his request.

"I'm going to the convenience store!" She called out to her mother, who was upstairs working.

"Stay safe!" She heard Eri Shibaguchi's muffled voice reply back from upstairs as Sachi opened her front door.

It was very cold despite the sun being out. Probably because it had just rained. Sachi always wondered why it was colder when the sky cleared the day after it rained. Sachi could feel the mid-winter chill bite at her from beneath her sweat pants and thin sweater. "Maybe I should have dressed in layers" she thought to herself as she walked hastily down the street. The convenience store was only down the block, so it wasn't excessively far from her house.

The warm atmosphere of the store sent goosebumps ringing across her arms as she walked around searching for the milk aisle. Grabbing two cartons of milk and resting them on the hand-held shopping basket, Sachi decided to get a canned hot chocolate as well with the money Tomiichi gave her.

The cashier readily wrapped her purchases in a plastic bag. Walking out of the store, Sachi had a bit of trouble trying to hold the cartons of milk and canned beverage with one hand and trying to stuff her receipt and change in her pocket. Remember that her body was still rather fragile since the SAO incident. Apparently, as she tried walking down to the corner, the can of hot chocolate had managed to fall out of the bag, and rolled down the paved cement until it eventually stopped at the corner about a meter away from her.

"Oh no!" Sachi called out as she raced after it. Reaching it readily in time, Sachi was about to reach down to pick it up. But out of the blue, another hand came out from the other side of the corner and picked it up before her.

"You dropped this" The person said as he now walked into view right in front of her. It was a boy, of around 19 years of age. His face was all so familiar to Sachi as his formerly brown spikey hair was now loose and free. His eyes no longer showed a fiery passion, and instead, now showed a calm and gentler nature.

Sachi stood there, with both her and the boy's hands on the can of hot chocolate, staring at each other with the utmost delight. Eventually, she managed to smile, and say:

"Thank you"

Fate sure has mysterious ways of working she thought to herself.


	25. Final Notes

Final Notes

Well, that's it. My story's complete, for now at least! Haha. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you guys for sticking with my story all through these few months, I really enjoyed writing this. Though I might not be the best writer in the world, I really think that I did a pretty good job writing all this, and I'm quite proud that I stuck with it to the end. You know, honestly, I forgot why I started writing this story in the first place. I remember that it was what if Sachi never died, but I had forgotten how strong my motivation for writing it in the first place.

Again, I just wanted to thank the reader for sticking with me, especially those who gave me some helpful reviews, I know all of you guys hate me breaking the 4th wall xD But I just can't really help it. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped.

Now of course, I just wanted to ask the reader a few questions,

So how did I do? I was wondering just how much you guys enjoyed my story, or if you didn't really enjoy it at all. I just want the insight of the reader and some final feedback before I start my second arc (Which won't be for some time maybe), but nonetheless, I just want to see what you guys thought.

How were my characters? Personally, I love all my characters, and I used many references from games and such to create them. But I have to say, my favorite character was either Norie or Sachi.

Story? I look back upon all my chapters and I kind of laugh at just how much slice of life there was. I never really intended for it to reach this level of episodicness, but I guess that was kind of how it went. I know some of the readers wanted a more solid storyline, but it was kind of difficult for me to come up with one, especially since I wanted to stay as canon as possible to the actual LN.

Questions? I know you guys have plenty of questions ask me, am I right? xP

I digress, now of course, if you haven't caught onto it already, there was one part in the epilogue I just wanted to bring up. It was the part in which I said that Kayaba Akihito was glad to see his daughter one last time. This is probably the only part of the LN that I am going majorly off canon for. Plot twist? Yes, I intended for Sachi to be Kayaba Akihito's daughter. Details? I'll go over them in future arcs. But if you guys want to have some spoilers, I'll tell you what ideas have been spinning around in my head thus far

Well, I guess that's all there is, oh, of course, I wanted to give a big thanks to the LN for providing me many of the details that helped me flesh out my story. Without it guiding me, I don't think I would have been able to keep the story from progressing this way if I didn't keep canon. Anyway, I don't think I'll be relying upon it as much in the ALO arc as much, since Sachi's adventure will take place separate from Kirito's for most of the story…. Oops, I think I've said too much.

Oh, I almost forgot. Since I'm applying to Art Center College of Design, I figured when they asked for a portfolio consisting of designs from an original story, or an "existing" one, I could use the concepts I described in my story to draw up character designs for some of the characters. Just to give a heads up, I'm planning on doing characters sheets for Sachi, Norie, Keshiga, Ellen, and maybe Tsurugi and Irina. Depends on how much I get done during the break. Anyway, stay tuned for when I post the designs up. I'll put them up as another story separate from this one.

Well, that's kind of all I wanted to say at this point. If you have any questions or anything that needs emphasis or some clearing up, don't be afraid to PM me, I'll respond in due time. Also, don't be scared to drop off a review, though I might not be as popular as some of the other stories in SAO out there, I'm sure I've made quite the impression.

Okay, since I'm taking all your time away by writing this final note (Sarcasm!) I just wanted to thank you guys one more time, and stay tuned for my next story!

Later!


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